


Blackened Pride

by The_Concierge_Of_Crime



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Injury/Surgical situations, M/M, Violence (war-zone and other)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-13 19:57:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 254,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3394412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Concierge_Of_Crime/pseuds/The_Concierge_Of_Crime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>((Another piece co-authored between myself and future_ex and also posted originally on LJ. As always we don't own anything but the plot and characterisations, the rest is all the property of Vinny Mac and WWE, and credit to the creator of Gunslinger Girl (anime) which loosely inspired this idea))</p><p>When John Cena, Cody Rhodes, Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett began working for ADR Corporation they never expected that they would be given a key-role in a life-changing assignment. However, working alongside their friends to help some 'newcomers' lives run smoothly is easier said than done in the midst of a political minefield which includes bio-chemical-weaponry, assassination attempts and top-secret medical technology. Falling in love should be the last thing on their minds...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Gut Reaction TIme

John Cena was woken at the most unsociable hour of the night imaginable by the ringing of his phone. He groaned quietly, burying his face into the pillow as he reached out for it, wondering who was cruel enough to call him in the middle of the damned night. Once upon a time, barely two years ago, he had been an active soldier on the frontline but a couple of well-placed bullets had put paid to that. Back in those days the slightest sound as he slept would have seen him going from flat out to awake and ready to attack with no time in between to speak of and it was a habit that he had carried with him into a life outside of combat for a time. He knew he had to put a stop to it after killing two phones, four radios and the television and had done all he could to become accustomed to the normality of small noises not being a sign of something potentially deadly. The flipside of that being that when the phone rang while he was asleep, it meant that he wasn't wholly awake and the thickness of his voice broadcast it. 

“Cena.”

“John, Barrett.” The brisk British accent came over the phone, businesslike as ever but with perhaps the slightest hint of excitement. “We need you in the lab, now.”

That brought John to full wakefulness. Just because he was no longer an active soldier didn't mean that he still didn't work for the same private militia of the bioengineering corporation that had taken him on fresh out of school and made him what he was today. They'd fixed him up after the injuries, given him a desk job since it seemed unlikely that he would ever be suited for active service again. The words desk job had filled John with a black despair that made the injuries seem worse than they had before he had known what his fate was to be, but in this case his desk job was nothing to do with pushing paper and taking notes. There was something to be said for military intelligence. 

“What's going on at the lab that won't wait 'til morning?”

“Dammit Barrett.” Chris's voice growled in John's ear and he sighed. Great, they were on a conference call and he hadn't even spotted the tell-tale signs. He must be more tired than he had realised. 

“It's half past asshole in the morning,” Chris continued irritably. Chris was exactly the kind of man that John had always assumed didn't get along in any kind of military, but the man had done quite well for himself, although active combat had never been on the cards for him. He was a schemer, a planner, the kind of man who knew exactly where to hit an enemy so it would really hurt. He had some kind of background in psychology, although John certainly couldn't see him as a shrink. Bright and cunning he was and he could certainly be charming and personable when he wanted to be, but he also tended to get bored with people, changing from charming to harsh just as soon as he did. He was also childish and a prankster and John had already been on the receiving end of what Chris called a 'hazing'. John called it a good job he hadn't been wearing shorts at the time. 

“Some of us are still working,” commented Barrett, who could be at least as insufferable as Chris. 

“Mph.” Another voice, this one completely unrecognisable through sleep. 

“I take it you're almost conscious Rhodes?”

“M no' sleepin'.”

“Cody, I need you to be able to hold a conversation in five seconds flat, or else you're gonna be left out of this.”

“Don't! I'm awake!” 

John grinned a little, thinking he should have recognised Cody's tired mumblings. Cody was perhaps the strangest addition to the militia. He looked young, he acted young with his graphic novels and his console games and his enthusiasm for just about everything that grabbed his interest. But he also had a keen mind. His father had since retired but had previously had some role in the corporation and the elder Rhodes had pulled some strings for his three children. Cody was the youngest and the only one who had chosen the militia, but had surprised everyone by rising through the non-combat ranks steadily enough. Technically John and Chris both were his superiors, but then again technically Wade Barrett was their superior and that was enough for John to make sure there was no indication of rank unless it was strictly necessary. 

“Good.” Barrett got back to business in a hurry. “I need all three of you here in the lab as soon as possible. You're the closest to me and if you play your cards right, this could be a really good opportunity for the rest of your careers.”

He hung up, the telltale click signalling that he'd had enough of the conversation and gone back to whatever he was cooking up this time. 

“Asshole,” grumbled John, slipping out of bed even so and snagging some jeans from his temporary wardrobe, rather glad he bothered to hang up his clothes when he unpacked, unlike Cody. He had arrived in the region to discuss some conflict that had been growing in the area and as befitted a non-combat solider, staying in a hotel that would have been run-down by American standards but was one of the better ones without going to somewhere where the millionaires stayed. Not that many of them chose to be in a region torn apart by civil war, but there had been a time long past where it had been a desirable location for a holiday.

“We're still on the line John,” said Cody, sounding amused. “Meet you in the foyer in five?”

“I'll drive,” added Chris, hanging up himself. 

“Over my dead body,” mumbled John, putting the phone on the bed so that he could find a shirt that identified him, grabbing his ID and the phone and shoving them in his pockets, considering a shave and deciding against it. If they objected, the next time they wanted him they could wait until it was morning. He jammed his feet into boots and headed for the foyer, finding that he was the first one there by a narrow margin as Chris emerged from his own room, Cody last. 

“What did they choose us for?” asked Cody, a little hopefully, as if he was expecting to be told he had the special qualities that made them stand outs for some ultra-covert mission. 

“Probably that we three are the only ones in the region right now apart from Barrett himself and whatever flunkies he managed to wheedle the boss into letting him bring along.” Chris grinned at Cody as he twirled his car keys around his finger. “Or it might be that they recognise us for the best. I like the sound of the second one better.”

John rolled his eyes. “Let's just get there. Give me the keys.”

“Nope. My car, my keys.”

“It's not your car, it's the one that we were supplied with!”

“And who got the keys? It'd be a gross violation of trust if I allowed anyone else to drive. Why don't you jump in the backseat and shut the hell up?”

John growled, but decided it probably wasn't worth the argument. That was the thing with Chris; he didn't intend to start an argument as anything other than a joke but he tended to let things get serious and John just wanted to get to the lab and find out what was going on. He would far rather make it back to his own bed in America than stay in this war-torn hell-hole longer than he had to. If he wasn't out there fighting to make things better, then he was just as well at home arranging some other way to make it better. 

It didn't surprise him that even this far from home, Barrett had all the equipment he could possibly need. The locals were loathe to attack an American base and the local government was hoping, as they always hoped, that they would be able to get some help from the westerners in the form of arms rather than aid. They tended to be unmolested by all but the most ardent of extremists and even they didn't stand much of a chance with all the security. Barrett had been out there doing some research on the quality of land and the chance of growing the corporations hardy genetically modified crops, pretty much the only kind that might be able to grow to fruition and give a chance of food the next year to the population. But outcry about the modifications from a public who didn't seem to appreciate the benefits meant that they usually sent someone out to certify that the soil was unsuited to anything else. 

But that person shouldn't have been Barrett. For one thing, he was too high-up, too important to be on such a routine journey. For another thing, Barrett wasn't even in the food section. His specialities included bio-modification, but to John's knowledge he rarely applied that to plants. He was ostensibly in medical research, the kind that included finding cures for some of the nastier biological warfare viruses that had been doing the rounds for any number of years. Geneva convention be damned, there were plenty of nice new ways to declare war that didn't involve shooting each other anymore – although John would have preferred there were no bullets at all, given what had ended his active service. 

That was probably the reason that Barrett was out in the middle of a war, with his lab set up as if he were in some American bunker rather than some requisitioned building that had been hastily secured and set up with enough expensive medical equipment that selling it off would buy and sell the damned country it was in five times over. It didn't make things any easier to stomach though. That there was a need or even the chance to use that kind of equipment meant that the soldiers on active duty weren't in a good place. 

The lab was a hive of activity when the three arrived, looking around curiously as a team under the orders of Barrett dashed around, preparing things and washing up. John frowned deeply when he saw there were tables prepared for surgery. That meant something out there had gone bad. That they were there probably meant little chance of contamination but that was hardly a comfort when thinking of whoever had taken a bullet this time. 

“You're here. Good.” Barrett walked over to them with surgical gloves on, his hands raised slightly to reduce the risk of coming into something that might contaminate them. “ETA is four minutes, should be just enough time to brief you.”

“ETA?” Chris didn't look pleased, probably having come to the same conclusion that John had. “What's happened? And why does it concern us?”

“Attack on one of our squads by local militants with some serious weaponry.” Wade looked rather grim, managing to put aside his excitement for a moment. “I've no idea where they got them from but I suspect it's not a local toy, probably from someone selling on the black market – it's not important, to us at least. We had a squad walk straight into an ambush. Word is that they were holding their own until someone decided to let loose the bio-bomb.”

All three men winced. A biological bomb was essentially a housing for a short-lived airborne virus of various types and could be very nasty indeed. They were rarely used in normal combat because of the way that viruses didn't discriminate but they had been known to be used from a distance. Banned from military use by the Government, officially at least, they were still the weapon of choice for certain kinds of terrorists. 

“I've seen this kind of thing twice before,” Wade continued. “First time the guy died and there was nothing we could do. The second time, I managed to save him--”

“You personally?”

“Me personally,” confirmed Wade. “But we had a whole lot of problems and we're still having them. The thing is, we'd never seen anything like this one that they've used before then. They're something new. The bomb contains a sticky substance that can't be removed in the conventional way and burns through clothes, skin and anything else that it lands on. The virus itself is contained within. It's airborne and incredibly short-lived but it survives long enough to enter the systems of those in contact with the bomb. The long-term effects are still being studied but I've noticed that it inhibits a lot of the normal functions of the brain, or seems to. It's hard to be completely sure what's caused by the virus and what's a lasting effect of the trauma.”

“So these guys have been in contact with it?”

“A whole troop,” replied Wade. “We lost four on the scene. Another on the way here and I'm almost sure that we'll lose another from the sound of it. That leaves three.”

“And three of us,” said Chris. “Mind telling us where we fit into this?”

“I'm pretty sure I can have them up and about again in a couple of weeks.”

“How?” asked Cody. “If it's as bad as you say, it'll be months before they're even able to leave the hospital.”

“I've come up with something experimental, tested only once.”

“On the man that you saved before?”

“Yeah. It worked. Basically I've developed a synthetic skin substitute that's tougher and more hardy than actual skin. It reattaches itself after several hours to act as scar tissue of sorts, it becomes a part of the man. It's indistinguishable from the real thing and although it does work with the body in the normal way, the nerves seem to be rather deadened through it. We already know a way to repair and reconstitute damages muscles, you know all about that John--”

John flushed a little. He hated attention drawn to his injuries. 

“And this is the only way to save their lives. The only way.”

John narrowed his eyes. Was it him or did Wade look uncomfortable? He could understand the excitement and the concern, but there was something more at work. And what Wade had said didn't actually explain why they were there. “What's really going on Barrett?”

“I've had orders from higher up.” Wade looked like he wanted to fidget but couldn't in the scrubs. “These men – well, technically they're dead. We can keep them going in this artificial manner according to the legal waiver that they signed when they joined up but without that, they'd just die. And painfully. It's a lot of legal stuff that makes the blood boil and I don't really get it too much, but my orders are to get them back on their feet with a little uh, extra.”

“Extra,” said Chris flatly. 

“Monitors for heart rate, blood pressure and brain wave patterns built in so that it can be watched from a central computer. A microscopic radio beneath the skin, sensitive enough to pick up the quietest whisper and another in the ear as receiver.”

“Why?”

“Because these men will be something special thanks to the improvements they want me to make. And they're technically dead and they still have a contract with the corporation.”

“You're talking about some breed of super-soldier,” said Chris disbelievingly. 

“Not exactly. They can be harmed and killed like any other, they won't be able to do all the things that are commonly associated with super-soldiers. But they will be stronger and hardier than others in the field.”

John didn't like the sound of it much. “And you need us because?”

“Because of the damage done by the virus. Or the post-traumatic stress, who knows? You'll have men waking up to find that their memories are damaged beyond repair, to the point where they might not remember who they are, or have only fragments of their past lives available to them. They'll be scared and scared men tend to lash out. On top of that, there's the other matter of what's expected from them. They'll need to be trained, guided. Think of it like a dog handlers job, you have someone who trains them of what's expected using a system of rewards and punishments. And that's you three.”

“Why us?” asked Cody, although John sensed that it wasn't the main question that he really wanted to ask. 

“Because I was asked who I thought could be trusted with this kind of thing and on the list of available personnel in the area, you three are the ones I think are least likely to fuck it up.” Wade hesitated a moment. “And because this is delicate. It takes someone with a brain to realise the implications, not just for themselves but for the man they'll end up mentoring, for want of a better word. I didn't want someone who'd see them as a means to an end, a 'super-soldier' as you said earlier. I need some men with morals and I know you three have them.”

“They're men,” said John. “But they're dead and being used by the corporation. Doesn't that make them property?”

“They're that too.” Wade shrugged. “I know the ethics are shaky but for me, it comes down to one thing. I can do this and save lives, or I can refuse on moral grounds and either they die, or someone else carries on and let's be honest, no one else in the whole of the bio-division can manage this except for me.”

There was silence. 

“I don't have to tell you that this is top secret, but you all signed a no-disclosure should you decide that your morals outweigh the opportunity, then I won't hold it against you but I'd ask that you didn't breathe a word out of respect for me and because the higher ups take a really dim view of their work being made public when it's supposed to be under wraps.”

“But...” Chris frowned deeply. “Why do they want these things done?”

“I don't know. I would hope it's to show that there's been a new breakthrough in medical science, but really? I doubt it. Some of the modifications suggest that they'll be taking on the same role that they already hold, perhaps a little more in-depth.”

“And why do you want us here at this stage?”

“Barrett, they're outside!”

Wade spoke quickly. “I don't know how long the sedatives they were given will hold. If they need calming then that'll be your job, to a degree – I'll sedate them again, medically induced coma I think given how much damage there's going to be. I'd like for their memories of being here to be calming and for you to be involved from the start. The last one told me that they tend to remember stuff from after the attack, very little from before. You've got about three minutes to think about it. Oh, and I hope you have strong stomachs because these boys are going to be a mess.”

He strode off toward the tables that had been set up for the patients and the trio barely managed to get back in time before the doors burst open and stretchers started to come in quickly. John took a look at the first stretcher and turned his head away hurriedly. A substance Wade had called it, probably simplifying it for them, but it had to have some kind of acid base to do what it had done to these men. The skin was almost completely burned away, leaving only raw, bloodied tissue beneath, the few tenuous strips of fabric soaked red and clinging to the bodies. He found it hard to believe that anyone could live through that but when they bodies were attached to the monitors, there was the beeping that denoted a heartbeat, although erratic and weak. 

“This one survived as well,” said one of the soldiers bringing them in, sounding almost surprised. “We were sure he wasn't gonna pull through but he's a tougher bastard than he looks.”  
Wade glanced over at the three of them, then looked down at the four men being attached to drips and monitors. “There isn't anyone else that I trust to be involved with any of this. I'll take the fourth.”

“Dr Barrett--”

“This isn't the time to argue, get me a scalpel and let me see if I can keep him alive!”

John, Cody and Chris remained quiet while they watched Wade at work. Chris chuckled a little. “Wade doesn't look much like a mad scientist, does he?”

John had to agree with that one. Barrett had graduated with a prestigious degree earned along with test scores off the chart and rather than go into his chosen field straight away, he had gone into the military for a year for his native country. The British military was run very differently to the American one – for a start, the British military was still run by the Government and chronically underfunded. The American military had been sold to the private sector years before and although the President officially oversaw everything that went on, unofficially he just left them to it. Since that time there had been wars declared that were more about profit than people but at least the armed forces weren't suffering for lack of funding and always had the best possible equipment. And it had been smooth move for the President who had allowed it to happen, meaning that taxes could be cut and yet there was more funding for other things. The military was run by those corporations that could afford them and the morals weren't agonised over quite so much, plus the Government had deniability should something go wrong. Corporations got tax benefits, good public relations and a private military service should they feel the need for one. Everyone was a winner. 

Wade had been enticed to their corporation by the excellent pay and when asked if his military service had affected his field, he would just smile and refused to answer. But Chris was right about one thing, Wade looked a lot more like a soldier than a scientist. At six-six and at least as broad-shouldered as John was, anyone who saw him pouring over his notes or experimenting with strange liquids in stranger beakers thought it was incongruous. Even then, when they had seen him work before and there were four hideously mutilated figures lying in front of him, the scalpel looked out of place in his hands. But the look on his face was serious and his moves dexterous and decisive.

“I'm gonna need a picture of these guys. Someone get me one off the computer.”

Another one of the medical staff looked at Wade. “You want to know what they looked like? Why?”

“I don't want them distressed any more than they will be. If they at least look like themselves, they're likely to feel a lot less disorientation. Don't question it, do it!”

“Those poor guys...” Cody took a deep breath. “I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna have to.”

John and Chris looked over at him and Cody coloured a little, although his face was still pale in spite of the reddened cheeks. “Look at them, they've been through hell. And they've got no one else. Their families will be told they're dead, that's what Wade said. They need someone and I hope I wouldn't use their uh, alterations and whatever happens to their minds to take advantage. I couldn't leave them to someone who would.”

John and Chris looked at one another while Cody's gaze was fixed on the scene before him, both sighing. They'd known all along that they'd probably end up taking on the job but hearing their own tentative reasoning put so baldly meant that they couldn't find a reason not to. It didn't seem like quite the plum assignment that others might consider it to be though. 

There was silence for a while as they watched Wade working, along with the help of his crew, then Cody spoke again, sounding a little distracted. “John? Did you have this synthetic muscle that Barrett mentioned?”

“I took a couple of bullets about two years ago,” John said shortly, not wanting to go into the full story or to elaborate more than he needed to. “I had to have a lot of restructuring to be done. No false skin for me, but I had some of that muscle to make up for what I lost, along with roughly a ton of metal in there as well.”

Cody looked interested. “Where?”

“My shoulder and arm. And no, it's not a robotic arm, it's mine. But I nearly lost it. Wade did a lot of the initial reconstruction work on it and it's thanks to him that I've not just got an arm at all, but it moves and looks like it should.” He didn't mention the scars, or the other wounds. He didn't think it was really necessary considering what Cody really wanted to know. “So that makes me think that if anyone can rebuild them, it's Wade.”

Cody nodded slowly. “But that was one arm. These guys – they don't even have that much skin left.”

Chris continued to watch the operations in front of them. “If Barrett says he can do it and has before, then I'm inclined to believe him. He's full of himself but he's right when he says he's the only one that can do it. Man's something of a genius.”

“This is going to take hours,” added John, a little frustrated. “Do we really need to be here, if he's going to put them in comas anyway? Perhaps we should take off.”

“Perhaps.” Chris glanced at John and smirked.” You ask if we can go grab some food and sleep and we can catch up with him later on.”

“Funny.” John leaned back against the wall. “I guess Wade took on more than he bargained for himself, given that the other one lived as well. Looks like all four of us are in this together.”

“Yeah,” agreed Chris. “Now if only we knew what we'd let ourselves in for.”


	2. Chapter One: What's In A Name?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and the others are introduced to their new charges, and the first steps of their new lives are taken-- under the watchful eyes of Dr Copeland.

If he had been asked how many hours it had been since Wade had begun the surgery Cody wouldn’t have been able to give an honest answer. He had drunk enough coffee to make him feel as though he wouldn’t be able to sleep for the next fortnight if that was any indication. It was the most surreal situation he had ever been in before. When a hand touched his shoulder Cody startled, whipping around and then smiling sheepishly, “Sorry Natalya,” he apologised to the blonde woman who he had clearly startled in turn by being startled. The blonde shook her head and quirked a small smile, “It’s no problem Cody; I thought you’d heard me calling you just now. Wade’s all finished and the newbies have been placed in their recovery rooms. I was sent to come and introduce you to your new unit.” Cody didn’t know why, but he frowned at her wording.

“I’m ready when you are,” he said, tossing his empty plastic cup into the bin before following her out of the observation area. How lost in thought had he been that he hadn’t even noticed that the surgery had finished and his friends had already left? Rubbing a hand over his forehead Cody sighed softly; this was what you got for spending weeks on edge in war-torn countries without the slightest clue as to what was going to happen in the next wave of orders they were sent. To say he was looking forward to their return to America, even if it was to return to the secluded community of The Corporation’s and not exactly normal society, he was looking forward to it. Actually, in all of the time he had been working for The Corp. he had gotten quite used to only seeing the same people.

Wherever they were heading to seemed to take forever to get there, although once they reached the door his stomach suddenly knotted uncertainly. “Is he awake?” it seemed unfeasible given the amount of surgery he had just been through but Natalya merely looked at her watch, considered it for a moment and then said, “It’ll probably be about twenty minutes. That’s enough time to sort out their new registrations.” Cody’s brow furrowed as Natalya pulled the door open and motioned for Cody to go inside with her. The room was dark save for the illumination of a small lamp illuminating the sleeping figure on a non-descript bed inside of the otherwise furnitureless room, and Cody tensed a little even though Natalya seemed pretty assured that he was completely and utterly out of it.

“It’s OK,” she chided lightly, opening the folder that Cody hadn’t even noticed she’d been carrying until that moment, “-go and take a look at him.” Cody sighed softly; he knew that Wade had said something about these restored men being essentially property of the Corp but didn’t make it easier to hear them being spoken about like that. Approaching the bedside tentatively it took all of Cody’s willpower not to fall backwards onto his ass in shock as he saw the man asleep on the bed. He was perfect. Seriously, there wasn’t a single blemish or scar anywhere on his face, or the (rather lovely) torso that was on display from the covers being neatly tucked in around the unconscious man’s waist. He was young, maybe only a little older than Cody himself, tanned, tawny-haired, in a word: gorgeous.

And didn’t Cody feel like an asshole as soon as the thought crossed his mind? This man had been through hell and back, and was about to be thrown into a completely new life wherein no one he had ever known would know he was alive, and where there was little chance he would have any choice. Heck, he, Chris and John didn’t have that much freedom and they weren’t these guys with all their altercations and expectations loaded upon them. “What was his name?” Cody asked softly, knowing that Natalya undoubtedly had all of his old information there; information that would be passed to him later so he could be prepared for any signs of the man’s old memories manifesting themselves as his recovery and rehabilitation took place. As he had expected Natalya flipped to a different paper.

“Theodore. Theodore Marvin DiBiase—Junior,” there was something oddly regal about that name in Cody’s mind, as though the young man before him, not several hours ago on the brink of death thanks to biological warfare, should have been settled in some nice little home somewhere with a wife, kids, a dog and a job 9-5 nice and safe. Although, even as he thought that Cody knew how ridiculous it was because no one was ever really safe. Whether it was through illness, bad people, natural disasters or man-made ones there was always something out to get you. “Cody?” Natalya’s voice broke through his thoughts, prompting him back to the present, making him turn to look at her. She arched a finely plucked brow and then cocked her head, “His new name?” she asked, pen held ready.

“Ted,” Cody said softly. He might not be able to give him entirely the same name because of his new obligations but to Cody nothing else seemed to fit. “Ted, Natalya,” for a moment Cody swore he saw her lips pull into a smile but as soon as the expression was there it was gone, and Cody questioned whether it had ever been there in the first place. Writing a few things down with a flourish Natalya then excused herself to go and process Ted’s new documents, and to give Ted and his future ‘mentor’ privacy when the man awoke. Everything was going to be shocking for him without over-exposure to strangers right away. Sighing softly as he wanly mused that maybe he shouldn’t have been calling life boring so much recently Cody then took a seat on the single chair by the bed, waiting for Ted.

~::~ 

It had caught him completely off-guard, that much he remembered, it had been terrifying and unreal and yet happening all at once, and they had had no chance to react. He hadn’t been able to do anything to help his men, and then the toxin had hit him and his chest had been burning and--- Lieutenant Randal Keith Orton’s eyes flew open, sitting bolt upright in… a hospital bed? A hand on his arm had his other hand automatically shooting to his hip for his weapon, and yet all he felt was crisp, clean cotton. Disbelievingly, tense, Randy directed his gaze upwards--- and found himself gazing into the most perfect pair of blue eyes he had ever seen. Almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind Randy cursed himself; he was in an emergency situation and he was going gooey over some guy?

Some very attractive guy, his mind supplied against his will and Randy took a breath, and then wished he hadn’t because he suddenly felt light-headed. “Take it easy now,” the brunette man whose hand was resting on his arm still gently guided him backwards against the headboard of the bed, settling him down. “The doc finds out you’re making sudden movements like that and he’s gonna have my ass,” the accent was familiar to him thanks to his time travelling with the military but right then Randy couldn’t think of anything… He couldn’t remember anything except his name and what happened to him. That thought spurred him into immediately grabbing at his chest, stunned when he felt that it was smooth, toned and whole, exactly as it had been 24-hours ago when he’d awoken that morning.

“Here-“a glass of water was extended to him and Randy reached for it, frowning when he realised that he didn’t feel quite right touching it. It was almost as though he knew it was there but when he touched it there was only a fraction of the sensation it should have given him. Forcing himself not to panic (he was probably just a bit numb thanks to whatever they pumped him full of) Randy drank down the cold, refreshing water greedily and then wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “Thanks,” he muttered, voice coming out a little hoarse. “You’re welcome,” the brunette quirked a little smile and Randy swore that for a moment he had seen a dimple appear in the man’s cheek. Men his age should not have dimples and yet with this unknown guy there was something so right about that prospect.

“Where am I?” he asked then, cursing that he hadn’t been asking sooner. There was every chance he could have been captured… and yet from what he knew about the insurgents in the area they sure as hell wouldn’t be keeping him in a clean bed, with his wounds apparently treated and giving him water to drink. It was a bizarre situation and Randy absently wondered whether he was hallucinating on the brink of death thanks to the shit that had been inside of that container. Just the thought made his skin burn with phantom heat and again his hand sought out his chest. The brunette’s lips compressed a little thinly before he gave another small smile, “You’ll have the situation fully explained to you once you’ve had a chance to recover, but I can tell you that you’re safe in our medical facility,” he said.

Unsurprisingly Randy wasn’t completely appeased by this statement. If anything the evasiveness made him edgier. “And who are you exactly?” he asked and the brunette hesitated a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out an ID which he handed across to Randy. “My name is John Cena,” he said, clearing his throat softly, “I’m uh, well, I guess you could say we’re gonna be working together from now on.” Randy’s head snapped up before he handed the ID back, eyes narrowing in a way that should not have made him look as dangerously handsome as it did, “I guess it must’ve slipped your mind pal but I already have a job. A job that I need to get back to before—“the firm diatribe was suddenly cut off as though someone had flipped a switch on him, killing his voice.

John looked a little unnerved but not wholly surprised by the way Randy’s sentence seemed to hang in mid-air, echoing around the silent, near enough empty room. “Because what?” John prompted gently, sitting down on the chair that was next to his bed. Randy’s hands clenched into fists above the sheets, staring down at them, disbelief spreading through him from top to toe as he considered that he had no idea where he was supposed to be that wasn’t there. He wracked his brain, desperately trying to come up with answers, but all he got was a rather painful headache for his problems. When a hand suddenly rested on his knee he startled, and John retracted his hand quickly looking a little stricken, “I’m sorry,” he said hastily, clearing thinking that he had upset Randy, “-was that too quick?”

Making sure to keep his hands about his own person John suddenly sighed, rubbing a hand over short hair--- hair that looked similar to his own in the military cut. “I… I know this is confusing and difficult and you’ve been through a lot… but right now I just need you to trust that no one’s going to hurt you here…” John’s eyes were hypnotic as Randy’s connected with them, almost able to feel the sincerity of John’s words resonating through him as he continued speaking, “I’m not going to do anything to hurt you, Randy. I promise. I’ll not let anything hurt you ever again.” John’s cheeks went pink after a moment, a look of embarrassment crossing John’s face as though he realised how emotional he had gotten, and he looked away. The reaction caused Randy to give a little smile. 

~::~

“I killed the last man who was watching me sleep,” Chris startled slightly in surprise as the figure lying on the bed before him, whom he had been told should have been unconscious for at least another ten minutes, started speaking. His voice was low, had the hints of an accent, and had an oddly calming effect upon Chris. Which wasn’t how this situation was supposed to work; he was supposed to be the one who was to reassure… Evan. That was the name the man had come in with and Chris didn’t see any reason to give him another one. Besides, it was the last name that could cause them problems anyway. “Did you now? Aren’t you a feisty little thing?” even though he had been warned to be gentle with this newcomer gentle had never exactly been part of his repertoire, even before.

“Feistier than you know,” Evan responded, opening his eyes for the first time. Or, more accurately, he opened one eye and could see an older, handsome blonde man sitting beside his bed, the other eye though was looking into an unnerving whiteness that sent panic coursing through him. “It’s alright,” the unknown man sitting next to him said softly, and something in his voice spoke to something inside of Evan, telling him that this man was trustworthy and that he wasn’t going to do Evan any harm. “What’s wrong with my eye?” Evan asked, struggling to keep his voice as calm as he could, “I--- it’s all white.” Watching as the man stood slowly Evan tensed as he lifted his hands, stopping when he saw how Evan stilled. “Am I alright to touch you?” Chris asked, “I can take your bandages off now I think.”

“O-OK,” Evan murmured, shivering as gentle fingers brushed over his face and through his hair, unwinding what felt like yards and yards of bandages. Once the fabric fell away from his face Evan felt a little disoriented as he could see through both eyes again, looking around the dimly illuminated room he was in. From what he could tell from the small window above his bed, shielded by a blind, it was sometime during the day. What was going on? It had been just past three the last thing he knew, and he and his squadron had been--- and then that stuff had gotten onto his face and--- Evan’s hands flew up to his face, grasping and pressing, expecting to feel that he had huge sections of flesh and muscle missing, looking like something out of a post-apocalypse zombie movie. But he didn’t.

“Your face is perfectly fine, perfect,” said the newcomer softly, “How are you feeling, Evan?” chocolate coloured hues blinked rapidly a few times as Evan adjusted this new information, hoping that he wasn’t blushing as he felt he was a little because of the undoubtedly obligatory compliment. “I… I don’t know,” Evan admitted and then paused, looking into the greeny-blue eyes the newcomer possessed. There was an age and knowledge in those eyes, and yet an inherent sadness as well, as though he was lonely. Body language was something Evan had always had a keen sense of, and yet he could get a feel from a person because of their eyes too. “I’m… what happened? The last thing I remember was this bang, shouting, and then my face… my face, it was—“his words stuttered to a halt.

“Evan, my name is Chris. Chris Jericho. Soon you’ll be debriefed as to where you are and what you’ve been through, but for now I need to ask you to please calm down. You’ve been through highly stressful events these past 48 hours and—“when Evan’s hand suddenly grasped his own Chris startled, completely losing his train-of-thought for a moment as he looked down at the hand. It was small, strong, lightly calloused from hard work and yet in that moment it was shaking slightly. “48 hours? How long have I been here?” he asked, squeezing Chris’ hand automatically when the man seemed reluctant to answer his question. “Please?” he implored softly, feeling panic welling in his chest anew. Although Chris had made no move to hurt him Evan knew that that didn’t mean he was now safe.

“You’ve been unconscious for over 26 hours,” Chris eventually sighed and Evan’s stomach bottomed out. He had been unconscious for over a day? What the fuck had happened? In the back of his mind Evan had the feeling that he was missing something, missing someone maybe. Whatever it was, or whoever it was, they were important to him and it was killing him that he couldn’t think. A lightly calloused hand resting on his face made him jump slightly, wide-eyes looking up at the mature, serious face suddenly close to his own. Chris had lines around his eyes, laugh lines, signs of age that most freaked out over possessing, and yet Evan could see that they only served to accent the handsomeness of Chris’ face? And wouldn’t Justin rip the piss out of him if he heard his thoughts?

“Justin…?” Evan murmured quietly and Chris’ eyes flickered a moment before he suddenly removed his hand, leaning back in his chair. The loss of the man’s hand made Evan feel oddly bereft, and he longed to reach out and bring the hand back. Never before had he felt this taken with a person and given the circumstances it was totally inappropriate. “When you feel up to moving I’ll take you to have a shower and get changed, we have some fresh clothing set up for you,” Chris murmured, eyes on the floor now. Steeling himself against the slight oddness that was currently filling his body Evan nodded and started to push the covers back, “I’m ready—“he stopped, replacing the covers and then looking both amused and embarrassed, “Uh, don’t suppose you have any boxers do you?”

~::~

“Justin… Justin…” Wade frowned softly, glancing at his watch. The young man before him, despite his extensive injuries, the amount of painkillers he’d had and the surgery he’d had performed on him, should have been awake by then. Actually, Justin should have been awake thirty minutes ago. His vitals were all strong, a little stronger than normal but given all of the modification the men had experienced this wasn’t anything to be concerned over. Only… This was concerning him. Wade was very careful, even under pressure, about administering medicines to his patient and he hadn’t given Justin anymore morphine and knock-out drugs than he had the other men he had worked on. And yet Justin just wasn’t waking up. Had he been too late after all? Had his mind already died on him?

Wrapping his fingers around Justin’s waist again Wade shook his watch, listened to it to make sure it was ticking, and then focused his attention on taking Justin’s pulse. As his eyes went back to Justin’s face Wade’s brow furrowed. There was something so… familiar about the man before him, and yet for the life of him Wade didn’t know why. Justin’s name (Justin Gabriel, how appropriate with one so angelically faced?) didn’t ring any bells for the Brit, and neither did his background information up until his stint in the military. Again, his pulse was the same and Wade sighed; he supposed Justin’s body was still in shock and attempting to protect itself. Leaving him was bad, but forcing him out before he was ready was equally risky and the doctor was for once at a loss for what to do.

As he settled back in the uncomfortable plastic seat of the single chair that had been brought in for him to use for the duration of his watch over Justin, Wade glanced over the man’s exposed torso and face. Everything had repaired superbly if he did say so himself, the massive damage the man had taken two days prior not even visible now. His head he been repaired as well, alongside his arm and stomach. Wade grimaced as he considered just how bad of a mess the young man had been in. Shaking his head slightly Wade sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. Man’s advancements bring as many problems as they solve, don’t you think so Wade? Wade’s eyes flew open and he sat upright, looking around the room as though expecting someone other than he and Justin to be there.

When he realised that he was just having a paranoid moment Wade sighed. Who had used to say those words to him? His mind had supplied them to him in a child’s voice, and they seemed so familiar to him and yet--- “Wade? Wade Barrett?” Wade’s head snapped around from where he had been looking at the door to look down at the bed before him. Justin’s eyes were open (and from their dilation he could see that Justin was calm if a little uncertain and confused, clearly the replacement eye had taken well) and he was looking directly at him. Ignoring the strange pulse his heart gave Wade asked quietly, “Excuse me?” maybe his tiredness was still playing tricks on him and Justin hadn’t said anything at all. “Your name…” Justin looked almost perplexed, “Is Wade Barrett isn’t it?”

“How—“Wade licked his dry lips and tried to keep himself calm even though disbelief was running through him. If he panicked then that could send Justin into a panic and given that his natural body was still adjusting to the sheer mass of synthesised material he had rebuilt and supplemented his body for that would be a bad thing indeed and could send Justin into a mental relapse. “How do you know my name?” he asked, asking as neutrally and without accusation as possible. Justin opened his mouth and then stopped, his brow furrowing in intense confusion. “I… I know you… I think…” Justin mumbled, a hand suddenly pressing against his forehead as his eyes closed, apparently in pain. Wade stood immediately, pressing gentle but firm fingers against Justin’s temples, pressing down lightly.

“I’m sorry, you’re probably experiencing a lot right now. I’ve brought you something for the headaches---“his brows rose slightly when Justin shook his head, a determined expression on his face. “No, no way. I--- where am I? You’re not filling me with pills—“he started to ramble and Wade found himself torn between sedating Justin again for his own good and keeping him awake to see if he could calm him that way and appease him. “Justin, will you please take the tablets? I promise you there’s nothing wrong with them… Look?” he reached into his pocket and handed the box to Justin. It was a global brand of pain medication, each little pocket with a pill in completely sealed, each pill looking the same. Still, Justin couldn’t bring himself to trust the man before him, not completely anyway.

“Here…” Wade popped a tablet from the packet, showed it to Justin, and then he popped it into his mouth. Downing the item with some of Justin’s water Wade then grimaced apologetically, “I’m afraid it’s not the nicest tasting substance in the world, pity adding anything sweet makes it absolutely useless.” Justin quirked a little smile then when he realised that Wade was joking, eyeing the tablet he had just taken from the packet and then the glass of water Wade extended out to him. If he was going to die it would suck, since he had survived that bomb, but, well, at least Wade was being nice to him about it. Justin downed the tablet and was shocked when an hour later he was still alive, and not only that he had showered, been given new clothes and currently found himself being served a meal inside a meeting room. 

~::~

“Do you think this will really work?” Christian turned to look at his friend Adam, the two blonde men watching from an upstairs window in the main communal building as they watched their ‘newest employees’ following their ‘mentors’ towards their new bedrooms. They had enough rooms in the dormitory to allow each man to have their own room, but many of their doctors (Wade included) suggested that it might be a good idea to have them double-up for the time being at least until they became accustomed to their surroundings and had grown to trust those around them. It had been odd too watch their interactions during the debriefing; they had recognised one another, and had even been told why they should know one another, and yet, clearly, some of the pieces were missing.

Shrugging slightly Adam turned towards Christian and quirked a small smirk, “You’re the Big Man’s Bitch, ‘Tian, why don’t you ask ‘Berto what’s going down?” he ducked the kick his friend directed at him, slinging an arm around his shoulders, “Relax, I’m only messing with you.” Alberto might be an arrogant asshole at times but he had the money to keep their department working, and it was thanks to his funding also that the four men who had recently vanished out of their scope of sight (and to a lesser extent the four men who were accompanying them) could live a second chance at life. “He thinks it’s a great idea, and that we could really make a difference this time around than we’ve been able to do before by the more… conventional methods,” Christian sighed slightly, head shaking a little.

“Hopefully so. And then Layfield, McMahon and Laurinitus’ll definitely get what’s coming to them. Those old bastards should have just given up and settled down years ago… If we can get their terrorist scum off of the streets I’ll certainly be sleeping better tonight.” He clapped Christian on the shoulder and then started walking away towards his own bedroom, “Speaking of sleep you should go to bed; you’ve got a big morning of overseeing their first target practice tomorrow, right?” Although Christian knew that Adam was right he didn’t move right away even when he knew Alberto had probably returned to their suite now and was expecting him. Those men had been close to death, but was it right for them to bring them back only to have them dealing with death even more than before?

~:~ 

Adam continued to watch the eight men on and off for the next few days, more openly with Barrett and his new charge than any of the others. Since Barrett had been a part of the project from the start and hadn't supposed to be getting any further involved than putting them back together again, he knew more about things than they would have liked him to, but that couldn't be helped. It might even be beneficial. 

As the resident psychiatrist, flown in to deal with the occasional case of post-traumatic stress disorder, it had fallen to him to go about determining how much memory each man had and how they were dealing with things. He had expected frustration and maybe even an outburst of anger and while he wasn't wrong about the first, the apparent stoicism that the four reconstructs showed was slightly worrying. They knew who he was of course, if not the extent he was involved and probably even Barrett wasn't wholly aware of just how close he was to those who made the decisions. Christian and Adam had been close since they were small children and that hadn't changed as they got older, and with Christian involved with the CEO of the corporation, Adam usually got the best assignments. This one however was something altogether new. 

The man who had led the ill-fated squad that morning remembered that his name was Randy Orton and that he seemed to be 'missing some ink', but nothing at all else about his past life, not his parents, where he was from, what ink he might be missing, anything at all. And he was the one who had the most remaining memory. Evan had remembered Justin but no one else from the squad and hadn't seemed to recognise the man he'd asked after when he saw him. Justin himself had known Wade's name somehow, although there didn't seem to be any way that their paths had crossed before and Wade himself had offered the theory that Justin had come partially out of his unconscious state at some point during the operation, unknown to them, seen his face and heard someone use his name, or just perhaps recognised the accent when he woke. It wasn't unheard of and seemed the most likely explanation to Adam. And Theodore, Ted, remembered nothing at all. He'd had to be told his own name, where he was, he couldn't even begin to guess what had landed him in hospital. The kid, Cody, had done a damned good job of keeping him calm and fielding his questions so that Ted hadn't panicked when that would have been the usual reaction. 

Although now he'd witnessed them for long enough, Adam was starting to wonder if the virus that had been unleashed in that bomb hadn't done more than just affect their memories. None of the men had reacted in anger to anything and there was certainly a record of that in Orton's files if no one else's. There hadn't been any of the panic he would have expected with men waking to find they had no idea of their past lives and they seemed remarkably incurious about what led to their present situations. In the past when he'd dealt with memory loss people had asked for explanations, photographs, stories, anything that might jog their memories. These men didn't even seem interested in remembering. Which he had to admit would make the end goal that much easier. He could do a little reprogramming or brainwashing if he had to but it was unethical and while he wasn't above bending his morals for the right purpose and price, it absolved him of wrestling with his conscience. 

Their past lives might be a mystery that they didn't want to unravel, but at least their prize projects weren't suffering from global amnesia. Most things came back to them naturally enough, as long as there was no personal association. They could all still read perfectly well, although none of them could name something they'd read in the past. They could do maths without recalling who had taught them, they had a greater or lesser degree of basic high school knowledge and there were little things that gave away the men they had used to be in that respect; Ted could follow quite difficult scientific and mathematical theories that Orton struggled with, Justin knew a lot about sports (though not which ones he preferred or played, or what teams he supported), Evan had consistently finished reading written texts long before the others did. It all tied in to what their skills and knowledge had been before the accident and nothing less than he would have expected. The only difference being that he might have assumed there would be something to trigger off an association to recapture old memories, but this time there wasn't a thing. Adam privately suspected that he could show all of them pictures of themselves with family or friends and it wouldn't spark the slightest reaction. 

And the skills they had learned in the military were still in place. Christian had taken them to target practice and every one was still a crack shot, able to dismantle and reassemble a gun in seconds. They could drive, Orton could drive a tank, they knew how to work the communications systems and they were familiar with the jargon. But they didn't recall being in the army and even though they knew they had been in an accident and what could remember the blast, they didn't recall the circumstances that led to them being there. It was strange, even to a practised psychiatrist, it was something that Adam had only ever read about and most of those articles had been about regaining those memories when he would prefer that they remained hidden forever. 

When the idea for the programme first came up, it had been Adam who suggested that they have a handler of sorts, someone dedicated to orienting them into their new lives, someone they trusted above anyone else. That at least had worked, better than he would have thought. Barrett might know the physical but Adam was all about the mind and he knew that just putting people back together wasn't usually enough. People needed something to cling to in times of uncertainty and although they didn't seem as uncertain as he would have thought, they had all attached themselves to their handlers almost fervently. It hadn't been so long before that they were soldiers, tough ones who wouldn't have dreamed of forming such a needy relationship with others, although closeness between the troops wasn't unheard of. There was a clear unease when the handlers were missing from the room and it was actually more useful for the corporation. Had they not trusted their handlers then there was so much more work that would have been needed, finding another handler perhaps or trusting the projects to a group. And that wouldn't do at all. Closer attachments meant more leverage and a greater chance of listening to orders. Particularly if those orders came from someone they implicitly trusted. 

The handlers themselves tended to hold more back when it came to revealing their feelings but Adam was pretty sure they weren't about to back out, or call it too difficult, or their charges too clingy. They were reticent about discussing their real feelings in the matter but Adam suspected a large part of that was thanks to their feelings for their projects. There was pity there and more, a respect and a liking. Evan in particular had a smart mouth and Chris seemed to warm to that, although Adam had already guessed that he would. He had been in charge of the screening process and although all he had to go on were army records and social media, he didn't think he had done a bad job. He had taken a bit of a chance with Orton and Cena, but then again having Orton with any of the handlers would be a chance and Cena had the most patience and perhaps could share his own tales of war-wounds should he need empathy from his ward. 

None of the projects had yet been told they were officially dead. Adam wanted to get things as normal as possible before he broke the news to them and that meant getting them back to America where he could monitor them properly, in a more familiar environment. He needed to see if they were likely to regain any memory from seeing their homeland and quash it as quickly as he was able to. Memories wouldn't be any good for what they wanted, it would be better if they never got them back and accepted that they were now merchandise rather than people, owned by the corporation. But it was a sensitive issue and putting it so baldly would do them no good. As stoic as all the projects had been, he couldn't guarantee that it would last after a bombshell like that one. 

It was his habit to gather them all for group therapy in the afternoons, with one-on-one sessions as he deemed fit, although he'd almost given up on that one. There didn't seem to be much point. If the subjects had any trauma then it was buried deep inside and they weren't showing it and they showed no desire for anything in particular. The group sessions were important to him though because it helped him to gauge if they were in need of one-on-one sessions, almost an early warning system. When they got back to the states, he fully intended to ensure he was the one to keep an eye on their charges rather than leave it to anyone else. With a hefty increase in pay of course. 

The usual start to the afternoon session was that he would have the soldiers in the room with him, they would chat about anything that he deemed fit and they would ask the handlers in after a time to join them. It was almost gratifying how quickly they wanted the handlers back with them and how they noticeably calmed when the other four were in the room. He hadn't witnessed much physical contact between them and it had always been invoked by the handlers, so he suspected that they saw the handlers as talismans, people that would keep them safe. He often noticed that the four former soldiers would touch a hand to where the worst of their wounds had been, as if puzzled. 

Barrett was working on the composition of the virus in what little spare time he had and Adam was pretty sure he'd be able to crack it, given the opportunity. But with watching over Justin being a full-time job, he didn't think it would be Barrett who managed to work out what the chemicals and long-term effects were and that was a good thing. He was close to Justin and there was a chance he would think some kind of reversal would be in order and they didn't want that. Once they got back, once they had set in place their plans for both soldiers and handlers, he would have less time, less opportunity. And Adam was planning to suggest to Del Rio that Barrett find it suddenly difficult to get a hold of his samples of the virus. It would be simple enough, since Barrett wasn't in virus research in the first place and he would have Justin to occupy his time.

It was just as well. He didn't want anything to bring an abrupt end or a major problem to the project. The implications were fascinating and in any case, he knew that if anyone cracked the virus then it probably wouldn't be so they could find a cure, rather that it might have psychological applications. Or military ones. A spy who literally couldn't give information to an enemy was always the dream. And if they went for a more practical application, then the dampening of emotion and curiosity could see it used for everyone from habitual violent criminals to kids with ADHD.

He gathered the four soldiers in the usual room he used for therapy after lunch, as he always did, the handlers waiting in another room until they were called. The four of them were in their usual seats, Randy directly opposite him in an unintentionally confrontational fashion, although his words and tone gave none of that emotion off. Ted sat to his right, Evan to his left and Justin at the other side of Evan. As usual it struck Adam that they should be scarred, deformed, physically imperfect and yet every one of them was handsome in their own way. The only thing that they all had in common was that Barrett hadn't bothered to give them hair plugs, informing anyone interested that the hair would grow back itself and sure enough, there were uneven growths of hair on every man. Randy had the least, although apparently he had shaved it pretty much to the scalp anyway. Justin's face hadn't been as affected as the other men's and although there was a patch at the side shaved, it was still mostly overgrown. Adam was pretty sure that Barrett had been right about that and the hair would grow back in its own time; it was just a little odd to see when their entire bodies had been reconstructed. 

He leaned back in his chair, giving his best smile, the one that made him look the most trustworthy, although he knew they would never have as much trust in him as they did in their handlers. “How are things with you guys?”

Randy looked around at the others, then back at Adam. “Fine,” he said. 

“Being treated okay? Food enough for you?”

“Sure.”

Adam kept his smile on his face, making a note in his pad. He had been meaning to ask Barrett if he had noticed if the tastebuds had been burned away or similar, or if the lack of enthusiasm was simply another symptom of the virus exposure. “Nothing that we can get you?”

“I don't know. I mean, I know the names of food, but not if I like them or not 'til I've tried them.”

There was no frustration in Randy's voice, no wistfulness, no nothing. It was a mere statement, with no feeling behind it. Adam nodded. “It's hard to get the good food out here, but perhaps when we get back to the states then we can have a culinary adventure. How are your friends?”

Randy perked up a little. “They're good.”

“Ted?”

“Cody’s doing fine. But he doesn't like that we're kept in all the time, unless we're shooting at things.”

“Well, that's for your own protection. We're not situated in a friendly place at the moment. Evan?”

“Chris is always happy. Making jokes and laughing at mine. I don't know many jokes but he likes sarcasm.”

“I'm sure he does, in fact I know he does. Justin?”

Justin looked a little wary, maybe a little confused. Adam suspected that out of all of them, it was Justin who sometimes tried to recall his past, not that he ever admitted it. “Wade says he'd like to cook something British, he's not fond of the food here, but he says he never noticed before because he's usually working at the same time. I'm not sure I'd trust him to cook though.”

“Why's that?”

Justin smirked. “Because he can be absent minded when he gets involved with something. If he did start cooking, the steak would probably remind him of cow enzymes or whatever and he'd end up burning the place down while he discovered a cure for foot and mouth.”

Adam tried not to grin at that, while the others grinned. “John would make me wait four hours and throw food away 'til he cooked the perfect steak,” added Randy. 

“Cody'd burn it, smother it in sauce and hope that I didn't notice,” added Ted.

“And Chris'd come out of the kitchen announcing we were eating out and then call the fire department when he thought I wasn't looking.” Evan chuckled and all the soldiers looked amused at their observations. Adam knew they had more faith than they were showing but humour was a little more human than disinterest and making observations based on personality was a good thing. They'd need it in the future. 

“How are you holding up, injury wise?” asked Adam casually.

“I don't feel right,” Randy said immediately. “My arms, they're not right.”

They'd been there before and Adam was about to answer when Justin saved him the job. “Wade's a lot of things Randy, but he's not a tattoo artist. Get your own.”

Adam managed not to frown but he wasn't happy about that. They knew that Wade had been one of the surgeons but he hadn't thought they knew the level of his involvement. On the other hand, Justin probably would have thought Wade fixed them all single-handedly even if his job had been mopping the blood and skin off the floor. He didn't think that they should know the extent one of their handlers had been involved in their healing. 

“We can probably arrange for you to see a tattoo artist when we get back, if it bothers you that much.” Adam had said as much before but it seemed to cheer Randy a little, although on the one occasion he'd said no to that, Randy hadn't even been irritated, simply took it in his stride. If his information about the man was correct, that wasn't at all like him. “Anyone else?”

He was greeted with shrugs. They had clearly suffered from some loss of feeling that caused them to be a little rough with things or apply too much pressure to themselves but again, it just didn't seem to bother them. And Adam had noticed that before they got used to it, all four had managed to cut themselves with relative severity the first time they tried to shave, none of them seemed to feel it and all of them had healed up a lot faster than they should have done. That had been mere days before and none had so much as a scar to show for it. Still, they didn't look to harm themselves and had quickly learned not to put so much pressure on the blade. It was just another learning curve he supposed. 

“Any odd thoughts, strange dreams, weird ideas?” Adam didn't want to ask if they had remembered anything. He didn't want them to remember anything and giving them the idea there might be something worth recalling might encourage them.

“I dreamed about zombies last night,” said Evan cheerily. 

“Zombies?” Adam raised an eyebrow. Dreams could be a good indicator of subconscious trauma. “Tell me about it.”

“Don't remember most of it. They were chasing me at first, then I got bored waiting for them to catch up.” Evan shrugged. “I think that was it.” 

“Was there anything that made you think of zombies in particular?” 

“I overheard Cody talking to Ted about some zombie story he read.” Evan grinned. “I was thinking that it sounded good. Probably where it came from.” 

Adam relaxed. The last thing he needed was an Evan tormented by thoughts of the rest of the squad, the ones that had died, remembering them through his dreams and feeling some kind of survivors’ guilt. “If it's gonna make you dream like that, perhaps you should stick to romance books.”

“Ewg!” Evan wrinkled his nose and the other three laughed at him. 

“Anyone else?” asked Adam, before it could descend into teasing. 

There was a moments silence, the others shaking their heads. Adam looked interested. “What do you think about all day?”

“What does anyone think about?” Ted gave another of those maddening shrugs. “Whatever we're talking about, that's what we think about. Or if there's a DVD on, or some music playing, we might be thinking about that. Or if we're on our own, we might be daydreaming.”

“What do you daydream about?”

“Going running outside,” replied Ted. “It's one thing going out there to shoot or whatever and we know it's a hostile environment but I'd like to stretch my legs properly.”

“Yeah, running around the building isn't the same,” added Evan. “And I ran into people twice yesterday.”

The fact that they were running at all was pretty miraculous but it was another thing that Adam didn't really want them to realise. He simply nodded and added a note to the pad. 

“Are the others coming in soon?” asked Justin. 

Adam nodded, making another note. It was usually about this time when they asked, sometimes sooner but rarely longer. They didn't like to have their handlers out of their sight and yet Adam wasn't convinced that it was because they needed their handlers to look after them. Again, it seemed to be something of a bond and he felt a little perturbed that he didn't entirely understand what was happening with them. 

“You want to tell them we're ready for them?” he asked Justin, as casually as he was able. Justin nodded, getting up and heading out of the door. Adam made small talk by asking after the story Cody had been talking about and listening to the answers that Ted and Evan gave, but his mind was elsewhere. What the two had said was right, they had been active men before the accident and as good as new as they were, better than new, they weren't getting a lot of chance to move around as much as they were able to. Maybe it would be a good time to get them back to their own country. There was only so much that could be done in their training in the warzone they were currently in. 

Cody was the first one through the door, followed by Chris and John, with Wade and Justin the last two in. They too took their usual seats, beside the men that they had been assigned to. Adam noticed dispassionately that all the pairs exchanged smiles and that the handlers seemed to do a brief check in case their charges were distressed. And Randy in particular seemed to relax more than he had been. He had always been more inclined to talk more freely when John was there and seemed interested in the answers he gave.

“Anything to report?” he asked jovially.

There were a series of negatives and a shaking of heads, not that Adam had expected different. He leaned back and gave his most friendly smile at the group. “I may have some good news for you. I know that Dr Barrett suggested already that you were all allowed to return to the states...”

This was news to most of them and Wade looked a little embarrassed as all eyes went to him. He had recommended it with a series of reports on Justin, saying that there was not much that could realistically be done while they were away from home to further train the soldiers in their potential. Exercise, training, it was all too difficult when there was an actual war going on not far from the base they were in and he wasn't sure that the close proximity of the scene of their trauma was good for them. And in any case, he had the feeling that their work would not be in a place like this, where the war going on was fierce but rather mundane. These men were special, the first success he'd had save for saving the life of the first and that hadn't been exactly successful. He thought that given the trouble and expense, that they were being almost babied and trained, there was some other plan in store for them. 

And there was the little fact about the tracking devices, the intercoms. Surely that hadn't been ordered so that they could send them out in another squad to engage enemy soldiers. It was more likely to be something a lot more covert.

Adam noticed the looks but didn't draw attention to them. “And my recommendation is the same. With both of us putting forward the idea, the men in charge have agreed with us. We're currently making arrangements to have you all taken there.” He didn't use the word home or anything else that might trigger a memory, although he had done in the past to see if there was any reaction. He had seen none but why take a chance? It would be better if when they had settled, they thought of their new location as home. 

John looked a little surprised. “Where?”

Adam gave an enigmatic shrug. He was pretty sure he knew the places it wouldn't be. Coincidentally, both Randy and Evan were from St Louis, Ted was from Georgia and later moved to Florida, Justin had duel citizenship with America and South Africa, had spent his formative time in the former, a little time in England and his teen years also in Florida. They certainly wouldn't be going anywhere with personal ties. The corporation had headquarters in several locations but Adam personally thought it most likely they would end up in Chicago or Detroit, where Alberto spent most of his working time, or possibly Mexico if he really wanted them out of the way. Just because he was happy to loan his troops out to the American government and to take advantage of the privatisation of the military there, he might be happier taking them far away from America altogether, gathering all those he would need for this new pet project there. Hell, he might see it as an excuse to have Christian around a lot more, since Christian was one of the few who had the authority to know what was going on and the position to assist with training their new soldiers. 

“I don't know where exactly you'll be sent,” he confessed. “But I know that for the moment, you'll be in close proximity to one another. Maybe in military housing of some kind, more likely apartments. You'll still have to see me every day, I'll be going too. But it'll be a little more space for you all.”

~:~

The handlers exchanged looks with one another over their charges heads, but aside from the smallest amount of shifting in their seats the units didn’t seem phased about this change in their lifestyle. They had no idea of the potential implications of returning to American soil even if it wasn’t their home state and Adam wasn’t sure whether it was good that they didn’t know or irritating. He would need to take the handlers aside afterwards and express his concerns; they would undoubtedly be travelling with their unit after all, and he’d need for them to be on the lookout for the smallest signs that something was coming back to any of them about their former lives. Being proactive was hardly a fault and in this instance Adam fervently believed that it would be in the units’ best interests that they just forgot.

“That’ll be nice,” Evan said amicably and Chris turned his head to look at him. The bubbly man was smiling and it seemed genuine enough but there was still an emptiness in his eyes, in all of their eyes, that almost belayed the fact that they were still human… on some level anyway. They weren’t man-made robots in the strictest sense but they weren’t strictly people either. The sheer complexity of the lack of definition would be enough to have every human rights group on the planet up in arms towards the Corp. and that was the last thing that any of them would want. What they were attempting to do with the project was an excellent undertaking for the wellbeing of society and those inhabiting it… their judgements and sympathies would cloud the issues if you told someone of them.

“We should be near a town or something then right?” Cody asked, always the most openly inquisitive of the men of the room, although Adam had no doubt that Evan possessed the same tendencies. It was one of the reasons he hadn’t paired them together really because if they grew too complacent with one another about everyday things then there was every chance that Cody would let his guard down and Evan would become hurt, or worse, or vice versa should Evan let his guard down. Not to say Cody and Ted didn't have anything in common, but given the way the units were almost relearning everything all over again even though the knowledge was there already, there was less chance of such a slip occurring. Temperament and nature had been important in his decisions of pair.

“That’s right,” Adam said, ensuring to keep up his jovial nature because the units, although still struggling with empathy and emotion as things stood, could immediately sense when the moods of those around them had changed. Adam had been meaning to ask Wade if that had been part of their modification programming alongside with their extra abilities but as yet no good opportunity had arisen to ask him. “Which means that you’ll be able to do as you please in the city on your free time, although we’ll probably request that you try and go out with a handler and in pairs or groups just to start with alright?” Again, Adam found himself comparing the way the men reacted with the way he expected that they would have reacted had they not been bombed, nearly died, and reconstructed.

Once more he found Randy’s reaction the most interesting; for all he was a good soldier his profile mentioned problems with authority on more than one occasion, and he had apparently been diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder which was a condition that Adam had wanted to witness first-hand since the first time he had read about it in school. That and Munchausen’s-by-proxy. Had Randy still been as he once had been Adam sincerely doubted that he would have taken such a request lightly. Of course he wouldn’t have been there in the first place, but that wasn’t the point. The Randy from back then would have probably pitched a fit and thrown a few chairs in protest. In a way the Canadian found himself almost disappointed as Randy merely nodded calmly to answer him.

Glancing at his watch Adam then smiled at the units, “Alright guys I think we’re done today. Why don’t you all go back to your rooms? Or, if you want to wait for your handlers you can, outside the door.” As one Randy, Evan, Ted and Justin stood, giving a quick look to their handlers. It was both disconcerting and sweet in a twisted way the way the four men could still seem so independent and yet needed reassurance and permission from their handlers before they did anything even when told by someone else. Had that been anticipated side-effect? The handlers were there for the units’ benefits but Adam had the feeling that no one, not even Wade, had anticipated just how attached the men were going to be with one another. Well, hopefully it’d be more of a help than a hindrance.

With a smile or a nod the units were dismissed by their handlers, the men in the room remaining silent until the door had closed after Ted who closed it smartly behind him. Immediately John turned his attention towards Wade, a slight frown touching his lips, “Why didn’t you mention the fact that you’re intending to have us go home?” Not that he was complaining you understand; the prospect of a decent night’s sleep without the background track of raucous shouting, screaming and gunfire sounded heavenly. Wade’s cheeks coloured just slightly but he sent back a defiant sort of look as he hadn’t done anything outside of protocol and he honestly just hadn’t thought to mention it to them because they would have been heading back home soon enough--- and he told them as such.

“Sharing is caring, Wade,” Cody chided and the Brit’s nose wrinkled in the way that it always did whenever Cody said something like that. Wade wasn’t an idiot in that he couldn’t tell a saying from the literal but sometimes Cody said things in ways that made you uncertain as to whether you should take him seriously or not. “Oh, that reminds me Cody—“Adam flipped back a page in his notebook and then arched a brow, “What’s this about you telling Ted a zombie story?” Cody blinked a few times, smile slipping slightly, “He saw me reading a graphic novel-“Cody pointedly ignored Chris’ faux-cough of comic book and continued to explain, “—and he asked what it was about. Why? What’s the matter with Ted?” concern immediately filled Cody’s eyes, clearly worried he’d done something.

“Apparently Evan is interested in zombies,” Adam said absently, knowing he’d caught Chris’ full attention immediately upon mentioning the Canadian’s charge’s name, “—he overheard you talking to Ted and said he’d dreamt about zombies chasing him because of what he’d heard you saying. Just watch it from now on not to linger on things OK?” Cody’s cheeks flushed and he ducked his head; Adam was older than him but Cody never took much attention of the ages of his colleagues because none of them acted particularly old, but in moments like that he always felt as though he was the only one who got reprimanded like that. And it made him feel about nine years old all over again which was not something he appreciated despite having a (mostly) comfortable childhood.

“Ease off Adam,” John said, cutting in both on Cody’s behalf and also because they had other more pressing matters to consider--- he didn’t like leaving Randy just standing around waiting for him, and he had no doubt that that was what Randy would be doing right then. He would wait until John was finished and then he would insist on walking John back to his room even though the handlers were currently situated in another part of the building from the units. When they settled back in America there was every chance they would be moved into housing either with their units or nearer, but John didn’t have a problem with that. Although Randy was more than capable of taking care of himself John still got anxious whenever the other man was out of his sight for too long a time period.

The psychiatrist gave a joking bow in John’s direction, making the Boston native roll his eyes slightly. They didn’t dislike one another but on occasion their personalities could clash. Well, actually, Adam clashed with a lot of people, and he didn’t give a damn about it either. “So, how long are we going to be expected to remain out here?” Chris asked. He’d never really been military per se and this war-torn cesspit had given him more than he had ever wanted to experience. And, really, he’d like to get Evan away from there as soon as possible. The sight where the bombing had occurred had been quarantined off because of any residual contaminants… Something Chris had noticed when he had casually happened along that way when he had gone for a walk one afternoon feeling restless.

“I already said I don’t know,” Adam said pointedly, “But I’ll hazard a guess at no more than two weeks. ‘Berto’s keen to get a look at the merchandise first-hand and I recommended like Wade that the sooner we have them settled into what shall pretty much be their most permanent home the better. We can really have their training started then and once they’ve settled into a more normal routine I’m sure we’ll be able to see what they’re really capable of.” And he would be lying if he said he wasn’t just at least a little curious to see how their behaviour changed from how it was at the moment, if indeed it did. The handlers sighed softly as one and Adam wondered whether he should be starting group sessions for them as well as their units. Maybe he’d ask Christian about it later.

“We’ll have to start getting everything together as soon as then in case the call for return comes in quicker?” Cody asked and Adam nodded since he didn’t see what the harm would be. The swifter and more innocuous they could be getting out the better it would be. “If I get news then I’ll let you all know soon, though of course Christian could already be on his way down to say they’ve got a plane waiting for us at the airport so we best get our arse into gear.” There was always the chance even though Adam didn’t really see it at present time; it wouldn’t be the first time they had all been minding their own business on whatever jobs they had been doing at the time when they were chased out of the area either to return to the nearest headquarters or to just leave the country altogether.

“Is there anything else to report?” Chris asked and Adam smirked slightly at John who immediately sighed and gave a fondly exasperated smile, “Randy complaining about his arms again?” he asked. His charge, although not demanding to have it done, had asked him if he could maybe see a tattoo artist sometime. Although not exactly a fan of tattoos himself John couldn’t fault that Randy’s sleeves had been pretty impressive… and there something strangely erotic about the inked symbol on the back of Randy’s neck because of the way it moved when he moved. Not that the brunette had admitted such a thing to anyone; he felt almost as though he was taking advantage of Randy as it was without having the man removed from his care and companionship because they saw him as a danger to him.

Not that John would do anything to Randy, of course not. It wasn’t as though they had a conventional relationship as things stood, so pushing the boundaries outside of the clearly defined ones of friend and handler was a sure-fire way to have everything blow up in his face. “Oh, that and they don’t ever want any of you to personally cook for them,” Adam inputted with some joviality. As he had predicted the four handlers’ jaws dropped almost simultaneously and then they started to bombard him with questions, asking what their charges had said and why. Adam fielded their question doing the best to hold in his laughter and then the handlers prepared to go, each one acting as though they weren’t going to query their charge about their comments when they got them alone.


	3. Chapter Two: Home Sweet Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After returning to America the new group get settled into their new accommodations-- as generously provided by their boss.

Alberto Del Rio smirked to himself as he read the detailed report that had been faxed to him by his little Chihuahua (Christian, in case you’d misunderstood). It seemed as though the project was progressing nicely and they were already making plans to have their new employees brought back into the country which he was most pleased about. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect; local terrorist activity had been spiking recently. The actions had been small, but more frequent, and Alberto was concerned that the warring factions in the area were going to make bolder moves to try and usurp the government soon. Snorting in disgust at the mere thought Alberto then barked out a command in rapid Spanish to his assistant Ricardo, and the man scuttled off to get him a drink.

Swilling the expensive liquid around in his glass Alberto tossed the file onto his desk and dropped into the comfortable chair before the fire in his home office, pleased by the homey comforts of his suite. Of course, when Christian returned the big bed would be all the more appreciated because at the moment Alberto was feeling as though he had too much space since he’d become so accustomed to another presence. Reaching for his phone Alberto dialled through to the undisclosed number of the location where their operation was based out in the war-torn underbelly of the world. Reaching through to the Canadian he knew intimately Alberto swiftly informed him that he wanted the units sent to Chicago and that they should begin their training as soon as possible to allow for active use.

~::~

In the end their remaining time in the war-zone was only a week and three days, and then they were returning to America for the first time in what seemed like an age, at least, for most of those returning. Four men stepping off of the flight didn’t even really remember that they had lived here, not where they were from or where their parents lived or anything. Another plus that they had for these four, as the handlers had since discovered, was that they had all been single at the time of the incident. Having families believing they were gone was one thing but marriages and suchlike could always cause problems down the line for one reason or another, most stemming from legal reasons. Not that they had any idea of knowing how relationships may occur for the four in the future.

“Nice day at least,” Cody said bracingly as he bent down to adjust the laces of his converse trainers as Ted turned to smile at him softly as he adjusted the pack on his shoulder in turn. Since they were technically dead they had had all new paperwork and identities created for them (although they had special clearances in essentially all airports if they pulled the right strings so it wasn’t going to be too much of an issue) and they had been assured that all new clothing and anything else they may desire would be procured for them, without any personal expense, as soon as they were settled in. It would be up to the handler to ensure that they had all of the necessities for independent living even though they would most likely feel themselves drawn to the communal areas present in the apartment blocks.

“It was absolutely pissing it down when we left,” Chris agreed, placing a hand on Evan’s shoulder and giving him a small push to get him away from Justin as the pair playfully bickered over something that had apparently been said on the plane that had been misinterpreted. The way they teased one another was almost childlike although no-one could call them mentally simple or anything, and the tones they used when playfully bickering never seemed to venture outside of mildly amused and pointed; they never raised their voices and they never shouted, much like they never appeared to lose their tempers either. It was as though they had lost the ability to get angry, which seemed a little odd since it was hard to explain how their emotions could be tampered with, with their brains untouched.

John led the way through the airport, Randy behind him, Evan walking alongside Chris behind them, Cody and Ted almost walking in tandem just behind them and Justin was lagging to keep an eye on Wade; the Brit was apparently not too keen on flying for extended periods and he had had his head buried in a book since they had left the other airport which had been over a good fifteen hours ago at least after security checks and making sure that the units were comfortable. About an hour later they had cleared security, commandeered the rest of the airport and then hit the outside. A quick scope around and John found who he was looking for, lifting a hand into the air and calling, “Hey, A-Ry!” John missed the slightly confused and mildly jealous look that crossed over Randy’s face.

Seeing John smiling and calling to another man who wasn’t Doc Adam, one of their handlers (he still sensed that something wasn’t quite right about that term but he didn’t think to question it much) or one of his friends stirred something inside of him that the brunette couldn’t explain. His lips compressed into a thin line and had Ted, Justin and Evan had their original mental awareness they would have known that that was the sign that Randy was beginning to get annoyed. No one else seemed to notice either but Adam did, and although he found the reaction curious he didn’t read too much into it; they were in the middle of a busy airport entrance surrounded by strangers and noise, there was a chance that it was just overwhelming for the man. He called that they should hurry up.

A-Ry was a man maybe as tall as John, maybe a bit taller, quite broad and muscular with a tan and warm smile as he approached the group, twirling a set of keys in his hand. “Hey boys, how was the war-zone?” he asked cheerfully, ducking the smack that was levelled at the back of his head. It wasn’t as though anyone would seriously consider Alex’s words as fact, but Alex Riley was always the kind to push limits of what he was allowed to do. “Where’s the car, Riley?” Chris asked pointedly as he strode past the man. It wasn’t that he disliked Alex but Chris often took time to warm up to people and as Alex had only been with them for 10 months Chris still saw him as new. And being new wasn’t always a good thing in a very closed and tight-knit society like their workplace encouraged them all to be.

“That one there—“Alex pointed to a mini-bus that was embossed with what appeared to be a local car-hire firm and then unlocked it with the keyfob. Chris looked distinctly unimpressed with their transportation but nodded, “Come on Ev,” he muttered and Evan bounced after that man almost automatically, beginning to chatter away to Chris. Much to Alex’s surprise Chris merely smiled at the man instead of snapping some over-elaborate insult at him the way he was usually wont to do. “Didn’t think I’d actually see the day…” he then shook his head before smiling at Justin, Randy and Ted, “I’m Alex Riley, I’ll be your hand-to-hand combat tutor from now on. Feel free to call me A-Ry; everyone else does.” Ted and Justin smiled back politely, Randy giving a silent nod, still a little suspicious.

“No limo?” John chuckled as he moved towards the mini-bus and threw his bag into the back, taking Randy’s and doing the same as Cody and Wade mimicked his movements with their charges, each man then climbing into a seat. “I was trying to get you one but the boss-man’s out on business today and so he took it,” Alex reported as he climbed into the driver’s seat, clicked his belt into place and then began reversing the vehicle into the surprisingly light throng of airport traffic. “He’ll be back later on this evening though… wants a big welcome meal for the new guys,” John noticed he was careful not to call them anything that might tip them off as to their position in the Corp. and he appreciated his efforts since they were still at risk of being a little sensitive, “Wants to get acquainted with them.”

“Oh, that’ll be a treat for you,” Cody chuckled, half listening to the conversation and half listening to his iPod. Ted had the other bud of the headphones in his ear, eyes closed, but John had the distinct feeling that he was paying attention to every word that was said. They were supposed to be aware of everything, after all, wasn’t that how the new conditioning word post-reconstruction? John still found it a little disconcerting that Randy’s instincts would lead the man to throw himself in the path of a speeding train if that meant securing John’s safety at the end of the event, although attempting to tell Randy to do otherwise would apparently be enough to cause the man a deep inherent upset. John hadn’t been daring enough to test that theory out and see how real it was up to that point in time.

“Why?” Justin asked, leaning around to look over the back of his seat. He was settled between Wade and Alex in the three seats at the front of the vehicle, and so needed to turn to look at those he was conversing with. “The boss is OK… Just a bit of an arrogant asshole. If you look past the arrogance he’s a pretty stand-up guy. And he funds all of our work and pays our cheques so as far as anyone asks the man is God. Christian… do you remember him?” Ted and Justin nodded, although Ted’s eyes were still closed, proving that he was indeed listening in. “Well, Christian is the Director of a lot of our work, and he’s actually Alberto’s partner,” if he had been expecting a reaction from the two men he was addressing, or any others, he was sadly disappointed for they barely blinked at him.

Although he wasn’t deliberately intending to incite any negative emotions from any of their charges Cody couldn’t help thinking that the reaction was odd and turned in his chair to seek out Adam. He was lounged over two seats in the back and looked back at Cody the second he looked at him. Smirking and sending a flirtatious wink that had very little genuine meaning behind it Adam then called lightly, “Justin, can you tell me what a partner is?” Wade’s head turned just enough to expose his profile and Cody could already see that the scientist was looking less than pleased with where this conversation appeared to be going. Justin seemed to hesitate a moment, undoubtedly sensing Wade’s mood, but then nodded and recited, “A partner is someone you work with closely nearly all the time.”

“That is true, Justin,” Adam conceded and smiled and Justin, as all the units did, looked pleased when he was confirmed as being correct in something he’d said, “But in this case that’s not what we mean. A partner can also be used to refer to an unmarried, or married, man and woman, or, in this case, two men who are romantically and sexually involved with one another. In case you’re curious it can also refer to two women who are in the same kind of relationship,” by the time he finished he was smirking like the devil himself. And Wade’s expression said he was planning a horrific and ridiculously complex way of killing the man as slowly and as painfully as he could manage. And given the things that Wade had showed he could do none of the handlers or A-Ry doubted it would be painful as.

Justin turned and looked at Wade, a confused and curious expression on his face. Wade was startled that he didn’t see any disgust in Justin’s eyes because if he had been one of those men who struggled to accept gay couples then he was sure that would have shown through regardless of anything else--- they hadn’t exactly altered their personalities and their brains after all. Certainly there had been no comments of prejudice in Justin’s file but it could have just meant that his views were well-hidden. “Does that mean that we’re going to be involved sexually Wade?” the words were spoken with the same evenly measured confidence that all of the units voices carried but a light blush dusted over his cheeks. Wade made a sound as though he was choking, his entire face turning bright red.

“No! That is—“as Wade blundered through explaining to Justin that they weren’t that kind of partner Adam smirked and settled back against his leather jacket which he had settled on the seat as a kind of impromptu pillow. They had quite a ways to go until they reached where the headquarters was, on the outskirts of Chicago far enough away that meant that they wouldn’t be happened upon by nosy randomers, but close enough that they would be able to go through to the town as they wanted to. Closing his eyes and ignoring the fact that he could feel what was undoubtedly Wade’s death-glare all the way across the mini-bus the psychologist settled down for a nap. They would have a lot to talk about today in their group session once everyone had settled into their new places of residence.

~:~

It turned out that Alberto had pulled a few strings for his latest pet project. He had bought up a slightly run-down block of apartments, relocated the former owners of each one to somewhat nicer places and paid all their associated expenses, not because he was particularly generous but because he wanted them out of the way in a hurry. Still, Christian had liked seeing the happiness on the faces of the hard-working but struggling residents who had suddenly found themselves receiving a stroke of real luck and when Christian was happy, Alberto was happy. And if Christian thought he had done it for philanthropic purposes, so much the better. 

Once the apartments were in his possession he'd spent money to have them redecorated in a hurry, nothing fancy but it got rid of the spectre of the last families, the pink-and-mint child's room in one, the nicotine stains that permeated another, the horrific floral pattern that was in every single room in the third. White was good enough he had said shortly to his workers, there was no real point in going for anything particularly individual for every last one. The top four apartments were decorated almost identically, the same couches in the living rooms, the same large beds in the two bedrooms in each, the same towels, plates, wardrobes. The only real differences were in bathroom and kitchen units, which were fine and there was no point in changing. Each apartment had a large plasma television in the living room and nowhere else, each had a PC in another corner where usage could be easily supervised both by a handler and by an outside agency and each apartment had a camera in the living room and in the bedroom intended for the soldiers. The handlers had suspected this would be a possibility and balked at the suggestion that the entire building was covered by cameras. There had been something of an argument about it, solved unexpectedly by Chris when he announced he needed a private place to wank. The topic suddenly became uninteresting and the handlers got their way. 

There were actually five apartments in the building, each one taking up a floor. The top-most was John and Randy's, the next Ted and Cody's, the next Chris and Evan's' and the next Wade and Justin's. The lowest floor was designed for multi-purpose use and while there were two bedrooms for such guards as might be thought necessary at a later date, the living room was to be used as a therapy room and had been hurriedly soundproofed so that anyone else could be segregated in the kitchen and not hear what was going on. And in the downstairs apartment, every room was covered by the cameras. 

When the bus pulled up outside the building, none of the handlers looked especially impressed and the soldiers were typically unreadable. Adam opened his eyes, checked out the view and then turned his attention back to them. “Alberto left it looking a little uninspiring on the outside. Attracts less attention that way.”

“It's not on corporation property,” John pointed out, a little testily. He didn't like the thought of being dropped in the middle of a bunch of civilians. 

“Actually, it is. The whole area just got bought up, or at least it's in the process of being bought up. Alberto made something up about a rent-control scheme for corporation staff for the duration of their employment. It's actually an idea he's put into effect in other places and it does inspire loyalty when you consider that quitting your job also means having to clear out of your home. Although it's a good thing for those who have no intention of leaving. You'll be just another group of lower-level workers as far as the neighbourhood's concerned. No military though, we didn't think that was a great idea so we'll be coming up with a cover story for you. We'll go over the finer details soon enough, we've got the time since this is the only building where the deal is a hundred per cent finalised. Want to check out your new home?”

He accompanied them into the first floor, explaining what it would be used for without specifically saying it was to keep tabs on them. He also mentioned it could be used as a place where they could get together to hang out in a group if they wished to, receiving only passive, blank looks at this information. He supposed it wasn't exactly the most interesting place and took them upstairs, asking the group to wait on the stairs as he let Justin and Wade into their new place and then handed Wade the only set of keys. He thought the security in place might have looked a little alarming, having two normal locks as well as a keypad, but no one looked particularly perturbed by it. Justin only looked mildly curious, although Adam was watching him closely in case there was any kind of association triggered by some random item. It was the television he was most concerned about. It would be hard for him to monitor what Justin or any of them came in contact with via the TV and even limiting the channels didn't mean that things such as advertisements couldn't spark some hidden memory. In the end though, he had decided that it might be okay to risk it. They would be too busy most of the time to watch it and there was only so much they could deprive the handlers of as well. The handlers would just have to keep a close eye on them while they channel hopped. Perhaps surprisingly he was a lot less concerned about internet access. That was limited without the password and could be monitored by both handlers and by himself, Christian or whoever else might be allowed to be checking on events in the apartments.

Justin didn't pay much attention to the television, merely glanced with mild interest around the apartment and put his small bag in the middle of the floor. Adam glanced at Wade. “We can still have the rest of your stuff shipped.”

“No one touches my stuff but me,” said Wade irritably. “I'm used to travelling light, if we're staying awhile then I can pick up anything else I might need while I'm here.”

He probably could, Adam realised with a little residual jealousy. He might be well paid but given some of the breakthroughs that Wade had made in the last few years, he was probably the richest man in the whole building and that included himself and whatever compensation John had gotten from his injuries. In fact, he was probably worth a couple of million dollars at a conservative guess, even if Wade didn't seem especially enslaved to the money he made. He was more attracted to his position by what it offered him, namely space, unlimited resources and the chance to work out any theories he had without too much outside interference or any mention of budget. 

“I'll leave you to it,” he announced cheerily and took the rest of the group further up the stairs, to Chris and Evan's place. Evan too didn't seem too interested in the television but he seemed attracted by the shelving that had hurriedly been set up. “There's nothing on here. You'd think there'd be a little housewarming gift or something.”

“What would you call a good gift?” asked Adam curiously. He hadn't thought much of leaving anything to welcome them there, there hadn't seemed a lot of point if he were honest. As strange a mix of men and merchandise as they were, he wasn't sure if a gift would have been just another thing for them to give a disinterested look at and then put aside.

“I don't know. Books? A fruit basket? A card?”

Evan had shown an interest in stories before, Adam remembered. He nodded. “Well, there's no reason why you can't find little bits to make it a more personal space. But I would have thought that the apartment and the stacked kitchen was enough of a gift.”

“And assuming that you trust me to cook,” added Chris. 

Adam laughed. “I'll let you get used to the place and unpack. Don't forget dinner tonight,” he added and went back to lead the smaller group to the next floor, where Cody and Ted would be living. There was a little more there, since Cody had connections to the corporation within his family and had made a few calls to have a couple of things he announced he simply couldn't live without shipped to his new address – his family had been made aware that his location was secret thanks to his current work but he wasn't out of contact exactly and messages and parcels could get to him easily. That was why there were several boxes on the floor that Ted showed a little vague interest in and Cody all but leapt on in glee. 

“Games console,” he said reverentially. “Books. Chocolate. DVDs – my Batman shirt! We'll be living the good life now Ted, you just wait.”

Adam frowned. He hadn't thought that perhaps a games console would be there but thinking about it, what harm could it really do? Ted wouldn't have been on a console since his tour began and games got outdated so quickly that it wasn't too likely that he would have played any of them before. And nothing yet had sparked memory. There was nothing at all in Ted's psychological profile to suggest he might have had more than a passing interest in gaming anyway. Evan or Justin he might have thought more likely. 

Sure enough, Ted didn't give the games more than a passing look. Adam kept his smile reassuring. “Don't forget dinner tonight,” he reminded them and stepped out of the door. John and Randy were still waiting for him and John gave him a rather amused look. “Any reason why we got the top floor?”

“No real reason, except that I thought you'd be more likely to be able to do the stairs on a daily basis than Wade or Chris,” said Adam as they made their way upstairs. 

It made an odd sense to John, although that was taking things in a purely logical basis. The truth was that Wade might be a scientist and Chris might be the oldest of all of them, but both were still awesomely fit. In fact Chris was carrying around less muscle mass and probably would have less trouble than he did. Still, it hardly concerned him too much. 

“Isn't there an elevator?” he asked. 

“Sure there is. But what's the point when there's a quick way to get a little extra exercise? And I wanted to stop on every floor to drop you off.” Adam gave a charming grin as he opened the last apartment door and dropped the key into John's hand. John noticed that it was only the handlers who got a set, not their partners. And the number on the keypad had been different for each of them, with Adam beckoning them forward to see what it was.

“Why is it that you're allowed to know the numbers for the locks?” John asked. 

“It's important in case of emergency,” replied Adam smoothly and although he didn't say, John knew that it was in case something was wrong with their boys that perhaps a psychiatrist could deal with. I'll tell you now, the only people who have those codes are me, Alberto and Christian, who'll be your main contact apart from myself. Christian will be reporting progress back to the boss-man personally.”

“Why won't the boss-man just monitor it personally?” asked Randy, running a finger across the freshly painted wall for no good reason that Adam could see.

“He's a busy man. He's interested but he's got other commitments to deal with, so he put someone he trusts on the case.” Adam smiled. “And since he put his partner on it, you can tell that he must be interested. You'll be working with plenty of other people of course, like Riley, but none of them will have the code to get in here.”

Randy nodded, looking like he'd lost interest in the conversation already. So why did Adam feel as if that was just a show?

“Again John, if you want anything shipped...”

“I've got the same aversion as Wade has when it comes to people going through my things. I'll pick them up at a later date, when I can get to them myself.”

“Right. I'll leave you to it.” Adam headed for the door. “There'll be the bus coming back to pick you up for Alberto's about eight. Try to look smart.”

John tried not to roll his eyes and failed. Did Adam think he'd turn up in his old fatigues or something? Then again, it occurred to him that he didn't actually have that much to wear. He'd just have to go through what he did have and hope there was something he could wash in a hurry. And that was before the issue of Randy, who most of the time didn't seem to care a whole lot about his clothes and yet put in quite some time with his appearance when he didn't think anyone was paying attention, giving himself away in a hundred small ways. The tattoos were just the start of it. He thought there was a good chance that prior to the reconstruction Randy had been rather vain (with good reason in his humble opinion) and he didn't see any harm in letting that side of his personality out to play. It wasn't as if he was suddenly going to remember his entire past life just because he got to wear a decent shirt. John on the other hand was the first to admit that he had no fashion sense whatsoever and if he went and got something for Randy himself, the man would probably assume he was taking the piss. 

There were post-it notes on the bedroom doors, one with his name on and the other with Randy's. A clear sign that someone had been thinking of their positions and he remembered with some unease the conversation about cameras. He intended to check over his own room to make damned sure that no one had decided to disregard his wishes there, but he didn't know if Randy would be aware of being watched all the time. So far, Randy hadn't exactly seemed too concerned about a lot of things and probably wouldn't lose his temper over that either and yet on some level, John felt that Randy would go completely nuclear. He'd read the man's file and perhaps it was just what he had read over his past instances of insubordination, but he didn't feel as if usually Randy would take such a thing. 

Randy took the small bag he'd brought back with him into the bedroom selected for him, dumping it on the bed and mechanically starting to take them out. Most of the clothes were fatigues, the kind of thing that would be comfortable in the setting they had been in and the one item that they had all kinds of sizes in, which was just as well because the difference between the four soldiers was noticeable. Nothing there though was fit for an evening meal with some fussy millionaire.

Randy opened the wardrobe and blinked. “Someone's left their stuff in here,” he said. 

John realised he had been leaning against the door just contemplating events and walked into the room properly to see what was there. Not a whole lot, but there were two pairs of jeans, two pairs of black combats and assorted t-shirts. A set of new boots lay on the floor, a pair of trainers and there were a couple of jackets in there too, the Chicago weather was changeable. John sighed, wondering if he was likely to find something similar in his own wardrobe. “I think this might be the housewarming gift that Evan complained we didn't get.”

“Right.” Randy lifted a shirt from the wardrobe, wrinkling his nose slightly. There was nothing wrong with it that John could see. 

“Don't you like it?”

“It's boring,” said Randy. “I don't like plain shirts.”

“So we can go get you some more. Same time as we get you some ink, go shopping, have lunch...”

“What are we, women?”

John shrugged. “If you don't like the thought of new ink...”

“I like, I like.” Randy tossed the shirt onto the bed. “As soon as we get some kind of respite from the training because I don't think it's gonna let up just because we only just got back. I'm assuming that the boss won't mind that I'm wearing jeans because I don't see a suit in here.”

“Then he'll not mind.” 

“You ever meet this guy before?”

Randy pulled his shirt off over his head as he spoke and John momentarily didn't hear the question. Randy had taken a great deal of damage to the chest, abdomen, both arms. A smaller man would have gotten far more in the face, as Evan had, but Randy had managed to avoid that. He'd also not gotten any of the corrosive substance that had coated them across the back of his shoulders and the tattoo that had not been damaged. John often thought there was something almost hypnotic about watching it dance when Randy's muscles flexed and whenever he saw it he couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to trace the patterns of it with his fingers.

He gave himself a mental shake and focused. “No, I never met him. I don't think I've ever been important enough before. I think the others might have though. Wade's the golden boy in the science department and I think Chris met him in passing once. Cody's dad worked for the corporation for years so he might have run into him to. But me? Never.”

“You hear anything about him?” Randy turned and looked at John curiously and John vaguely wished he'd kept his shirt on. It would have made it easier for him to concentrate. 

“That he's uh, a little arrogant. He throws his money around but he's not really a sharing soul. He has a lot of sycophants running around after him and he rather enjoys that kinda thing. But I also heard he mellowed since he met Christian. There's a lot of rumours about that too, that he chased Christian relentlessly for months before he managed to get him to even agree to a date and whenever he gets too full of himself, Christian's the one to slap him down. But like I said, that's rumour. For all I know, it might be a lot of shit...” He grinned. “Then again, I know Christian and that sounds a lot like him.”

Randy's eyes narrowed a little but his voice was steady enough when he spoke. “How long have you known him?”

“Since a couple of months after I started. He started off as a grunt like me, went in a different direction. I'm pretty sure that Alberto would have stopped him doing that though if he'd still been serving when they met. Or ended all war everywhere so that there was no reason for Christian to leave.” He laughed to himself. “Why the interest in Christian all of a sudden?”

Randy shrugged. “No interest. I'm curious about this Alberto guy though. Don't really know what to say to him.”

“Why not?”

“Well... I know that Wade's team did all the work putting us back together after the bomb. But it was his money that allowed it. It's kinda strange is all.”

You used to work for him thought John, not that he was going to say it. If things had been different, if he hadn't been injured, then there was a chance that they might have been thrown on a mission together as equals. That would have been very bizarre.

Of course, if he hadn't been injured then he might have been on the mission with them when the bio-bomb had gone off and he might be the one reconstructed, legally dead, merchandise. It wasn't very likely, there were enough guys in the militia for it to be unlikely for them to run into one another, but it was an unsettling thought even so. 

“Just be civil to him and enjoy the food. From what I hear, he'll probably just ask a couple of questions then start telling you about himself.”

Randy smirked. “I hope so. I don't feel like answering all that many questions like the ones Doc Adam asks us all the time. I'm thinking of getting a thesaurus so that I can find new and interesting ways to say I'm fine. You mind if I jump into the shower first?”

“Be my guest,” said John absently, trying not to watch Randy too much as the man dropped his shirt to the floor and wandered from the room. It might be nice to see Randy in a pair of well-fitting jeans and he suspected that everything in their respective wardrobes would be a perfect fit. The sadly few times he had seen Randy without the combats he had noticed the man had a damned fine ass. 

And it wasn't the time to be considering that. With Randy out of the room, he took a moment to look around in search of the camera that was supposed to be there, not seeing it. Of course, there was supposed to be no chance of him spotting it by accident and no doubt that was a part of it. There was also little doubt that right now, Adam was watching how they were settling in. Until they actually were in some kind of routine, they would be watched a lot of the time. 

There was a mirror attached to the wall, slightly unusual in that it wasn't in a great place to be used for vanity and yet not really a part of the layout of the room. John would have bet money that the camera and possibly a bug were behind it. Not that he could test his theory too much, because Randy had put one of his shirts on a hanger, presumably to put it in the wardrobe, then hung it on the slight protrusion the mirror offered while he investigated the mystery and apparently forgotten about it. John looked at the hanging shirt for a moment, a slight smirk coming over his face. Either it genuinely was a coincidence or else Randy was a whole lot more on the ball than he pretended to be.

~:~

Evan never failed to surprise him; that was something Chris had already learned about his charge after less than a month in his company. Indeed, he left Evan for less than ten minutes whilst he went into his bedroom to unpack his things (there wasn’t all that much really, clothing, his musical memorabilia was safely in storage elsewhere since he didn’t want to risk losing or damaging any of it when he had to move around or was out of the country for days and weeks at a time) and when he returned he found Evan with his feet braced of the wardrobe via his toes, doing push-ups with his hands braced down on the floor. He was sans a shirt, as he usually was when he worked out, and the muscles in his back were moving most interestedly with each movement. The boy had a good physique no doubt.

And Chris felt like the largest pervert there ever was when he had thoughts like that. Sure, Evan wasn’t as young as his face made him seem but he was nearly 12 years younger than him. It was an age gap enough that had Chris feeling like an old man alright. Still… Looking wouldn’t hurt right? It wasn’t as though he was actually going to do anything about the feelings he had for the younger. Firmly fixing that thought in his mind (and casting a surreptitious and yet suspicious look around for any cameras) Chris leant against the doorframe and folded his arms over his chest. Evan seemed completely oblivious as to his presence as he made no attempt to acknowledge him, merely continued to do the over-complicated push-ups. It was strange in a way to see him doing such an exercise.

The reason it seemed strange was because Chris had noticed that Evan seemed to favour his legs despite having a good muscle development on his arms and upper-body. Still… He had seen Evan lay out more than one instructor from their former placement with one well-aimed kick in the little sparring sessions they had begun doing a few days before returning back to America. Exhaling softly Chris then almost jumped when Evan suddenly angled his head and looked right at him. Anyone else may have been startled, or at least questioning as to why the other person was standing there without speaking or indicating their presence, but Evan didn’t. As always when Evan saw him he merely smiled. It was hard to have known if Evan would have liked him so easily under other circumstances though.

“Something wrong, Chris?” Evan asked, neatly flicking his feet off of the wardrobe and straightening himself back to his feet in an enviously easy movement. For a moment Chris completely lost the ability to coherently respond; a small bead of sweat moving from Evan’s neck down towards those lovely abdominals had taken all of his attention. As Cody would say, he was a big-ass perv. “Why do you ask?” Chris found himself saying a little defensively, mentally kicking himself as the words came out. As usual though Evan didn’t seem to flinch, although his eyes did seem to take on a sad depth whenever it seemed as though Chris might be mad at him or distant, something that didn’t happen often but that did make itself known occasionally because Chris was unused to being so consistent.

“Just… You had a strange look on your face, I thought you might want to talk is all,” the brunette’s bottom lip stuck out a little, apparently completely subconsciously, and Chris found himself with the strangest urge to hug the younger. Maybe he was more tired than he presumed he was earlier on. A nap would probably be a good idea, especially if they were supposed to be having a big sit-down dinner with the boss. “It’s—It’s nothing Ev, I just came to see how you were settling in. Is there anything you need?” the shake of head he received in response wasn’t surprising to Chris at all. “Right, well… I’m just gonna go lay down for a bit OK? Feeling a little bit jet-lagged. Come and get me if you need anything alright?” he knew it probably seemed a bit overdone to repeat but needed.

“OK Chris… Try and get some rest, you look tired,” Evan gave another one of those cute smiles and Chris wanted to bang his head off of the wall. Trust this messed up work ethic to be the only way he could meet an attractive guy. Nodding his head Chris then stopped as he remembered something he’d managed to pick up for Evan before they had left, but hadn’t had chance to give it to him yet. “Here… I hope it’s the right one,” he then left Evan’s room, the book in the carrier bag sitting on the bed. He hadn’t mentioned about the book to Adam but he knew for a fact that there was a huge library they could access in the admin building so what was the harm a book could do? And, as Evan opened the carrier, the smile he had lit his eyes more than any other smile he’d given since waking.

~::~

“You play the piano?” Ted didn’t jump although Cody knew he had surprised him; the small, almost imperceptible jerk of Ted’s shoulder told him so. Cody had been paying careful and close attention to Ted from the moment he had first awoken from surgery and as such liked to think that he had become pretty adept at reading him. “Um… A little. I think,” Ted’s brow furrowed. He had found an electric-keyboard in the living-space where the games-console was being set up, and he had absently clicked the switch. He hadn’t been expecting the item to turn on, although when it had he had been slightly surprised when his fingers seemed to move of their own accord, plinking out a little tune. Cody had almost dropped his precious games box when he’d heard the music from out of nowhere.

“Wow,” Cody said admirably, waving a hand at the keyboard, “I’ve had that for years and I still can’t play anything on it except from a couple of theme songs and little bits like Chopsticks.” The look on Ted’s face told Cody that he had no idea what Cody was talking about, but that was OK. Smiling, Cody moved and dropped himself down onto the floor next to Ted, sitting so their shoulders were lightly resting together, “Will you play me something else? Anything, it doesn’t matter.” If this was something Ted had liked to do from his past Cody wasn’t going to discourage it… although he knew there was every chance that Doc Adam would kick his ass from here to Mexico and then back again, especially if he didn’t tell him about it. Which, if he was honest, he was really tempted to keep hush.

“I don’t think this really counts as a piano,” Ted said quietly, a slight flush building on the apples of his cheeks. Cody was a very tactile person he knew, but not in any way that made Ted uncomfortable. And he wasn’t uncomfortable then either. Well, not exactly… Ted didn’t know how to explain the little fluttery sensation that he had been getting in his stomach recently when his mentor touched him. In the recesses of his memory he was sure he knew the answer to what was wrong with him, and yet he just couldn’t get the thought to where he could get it. Not that he tried hard to wrack his brain… the blankness he often encountered when he tried made him more inclined to just handle things as they happened and reacquaint himself with things. Adam said that that wasn’t a bad thing to do after all.

A part of Ted wanted to say no, to block off this feeling of awareness and create a physical distance between himself and Cody, but with his mentor smiling at him like that and revealing the gap between his front teeth that he was usually so conscious about… Well, it was enough to make Ted want to just say to heck with it all and do it. So he did. It was a little awkward at first but slowly but surely he managed to play a song. He couldn’t have said what notes he used or even given the song a name, but it was pretty pleasing to the ear even with his rusty, uneven technique. Cody clapped politely afterwards, assuming the flush on Ted’s cheeks was from that, and chuckled. “We’ll need to see if they have a real piano around… maybe get you some lessons if you like,” Cody enthused.

Music was good for the soul wasn’t it? Or was that chicken soup? Either way he didn’t see the harm in encouraging Ted to have hobbies that would help him wind down when he wasn’t out completing missions and suchlike. It wasn’t as though it would be healthy for them, memories or no memories, to do nothing but violence-related activities day in day out whether they were on active duty or not. “You don’t need to go to the trouble,” Ted insisted lightly, watching as Cody moved across the room again to begin fiddling with the games console to plug it up to the impressive TV. “It’ll be no trouble at all if you want to do it. Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, I won’t make you,” he was careful to add that on, to make sure that Ted knew he wasn’t obligated to do as Cody said.

“I…” Ted ducked his head and then looked up, the shy smile making Cody’s spirits lift and his own smile grow when he met his eyes, “I think I might like that, Cody, thank you.” Cody waved the thanks off and then resumed messing with the wires. After seeing him struggle for a few minutes Ted stood up and knelt down beside him, not even having to think as he plugged the wires in the right outputs and soon had the console up-and-running. As technology savvy as he was even Cody was impressed with the speed in which he did that. “We have some time before dinner…” Cody extended the second controller out to him, a puppy-dog expression on his face, “Play with me? Don’t worry; I’ll go easy on you until you get the hang on it.” Ted hesitated but then agreed, reminding Cody to go easy on him.

~::~

It was quiet, but not uncomfortably so, Justin thought to himself as he moved into the living-space and settled down on one of the comfortable looking settees. Wade was already sitting in one of the armchairs, a notebook open on his lap. He nearly always had one, Justin noted, and he found himself wondering what it was Wade was writing about. It seemed recently to be the same topic for he could recognise the jacket of the notebook. Wade was so organised when it came to his work that he had his notebooks organised by colour depending on what he was working on. “Wade…” he started and then stopped; he didn’t want the other getting annoyed with him by distracting him. Not that Wade ever really lost his temper with him… He seemed very careful about making sure Justin knew that.

As always the scientist looked up immediately upon Justin speaking to him although he had looked so involved in his work prior. “Is something wrong Justin? Do you feel sick?” Confusion flickered across Justin’s face a moment before he then laughed slightly and shook his head, “I feel fine Wade!” He assumed it was because Wade was a doctor, and the one who had helped them recover from their incident that the other was always so concerned about his physical wellbeing, but he asked Justin how he was feeling numerous times a day. It was a bit strange but otherwise Justin felt… Well, he quite liked Wade paying attention to him like that. The only downside though was that he felt awful about the fact that he had nothing to report to Wade when the other asked him how he was feeling.

“What’s wrong then?” Wade asked, brow furrowing, glasses slipping down his nose. Without thinking about it Justin stood and moved across to the scientist, missing the way Wade’s eyes widened behind the plain frames and he startled a little. Neatly plucking the glasses from Wade’s face Justin placed them on—and found he could see perfectly. And since he had never needed glasses in his life (at least, he didn’t remember ever needing glasses and he didn’t wear them currently) that could only mean one thing. “Why do you wear fake glasses Wade?” Justin asked, looking over the top of them to the British man. Wade swallowed and Justin found himself distracted by the man’s Adam’s-apple. He was far from an effeminate man but something about Wade just seemed much more masculine to him.

The man’s strong shoulders and slightly crooked nose were just two of the features that Justin found himself focusing on more and more when it came to his mentor. “I… They make me feel a little more like a scientist,” Wade found himself saying honestly. Because of his physical appearance most people overlooked his mental abilities, and it was after a particularly frustrated conversation with John a year or so back when the other man had joked about glasses making people look more intelligent and sophisticated that Wade had asked Gail, one of the assistants from his lab, to get him a pair. Since she actually did wear glasses for reading it was easy enough for her to get her optician to make a pair—especially when money wasn’t exactly an object. Justin looked confused, taking the glasses off.

“But you’re really clever without them… you don’t look bad with them on though,” Justin was very careful as he placed the glasses back on Wade’s face and then tilted his head to get a curious look at the book Wade was writing in. The two-page spread open on the man’s lap was already covered in neat black writing, a few pencil-diagrams interspersed within the text. For a second Justin could have sworn he saw his own name--- but Wade suddenly closed the book with a snap, a smile on his face that didn’t quite meet his eyes. Justin immediately stepped back, expecting to be scolded. Wade didn’t shout at him but he wasn’t shy of making Justin see whether he had done something right or not, and Justin was very careful to take on-board all bits of advice that the other man gave him.

Wade sensed Justin’s unease and held his hands up in a pacifying gesture, indicating the TV, “Why don’t we see if there’re any films on or something? We have some time to kill before dinner…” and wasn’t he dreading it already? Alberto wasn’t a bad boss and Wade couldn’t fault the way he was treated by the company and by proxy him, but he hated the way he was often pulled into the spotlight by him. Wade had lost count of the number of times he’d been forced to some big pretentious fundraiser with their boss to talk about things that he knew most of the people there didn’t care about the way he did, or even know about what he was talking about. Justin nodded slowly and relaxed, reaching for the remote to turn the TV on before handing it to Wade to choose.

~::~

Sighing deeply in bliss Adam threw himself down onto the big bed in the bedroom of his apartment. Unlike the others this one was one-bedroomed, but since Adam rarely had a room-mate he supposed that was the boss pandering to his preference to be alone. Glancing at his watch Adam supposed he should be making an effort to either get ready for dinner that evening or begin working on his question plan for that evening’s group session but for once he had no motivation to do anything. In truth he just wanted to lay there and not think about anything for a change. When a photo fell out of his report folder when he set it aside though that was easier said than done, a sudden flood of memories assaulting the psychiatrist. And there was nothing worse than facing your own thoughts.

The photo was of an attractive redheaded woman, dyed red, not ginger red. She had a sassy expression on her face as she flipped off the photographer—who was him if he remembered rightly. Lita had definitely been one of a kind, and when she had gone off in pursuit of answers to government conspiracies Adam had attempted to stop her, and not least because he was technically working for a government conspiracy. Lita had always had a mind of her own though and even when he had attempted to dissuade her he had known that it would come to no good. Adam had quite the chequered past when it came to dating, but Lita was the only woman who he had ever settled down with for more than a week at a time. She’d been fiery, engaging, and hadn’t taken any of his shit.

Sighing softly Adam shoved the photo into the drawer of the bedside table and then got off of the bed, deciding that he may as well get a shower. It’d been over two years since he had heard from Lita and he hadn’t heard anything from any of his sources when he had consulted them for some matters or other in the past. If you were to say he was brooding he was most likely to punch you in the face… In fact, Christian was the only one who seemed to know how he was feeling. He’d rib him for it occasionally but he knew when to toe the line when Adam started to get touchy. Throwing his clothing onto the bed Adam strode into the shower and turned the water on. Stepping underneath the hot spray he exhaled and closed his eyes, turning his face towards the spray with a contented sigh.

After a lengthy shower he stepped out of the spray, turned the shower off and then grabbed his towel. Entering his bedroom he dried and dressed in some jeans, a shirt and jacket, and then attempted to sort his hair the way he liked. Moving into the living-room he reached for his phone which lay on the side. When he saw a message from Christian reminding him about dinner he rolled his eyes. He wouldn’t have minded but he wasn’t the forgetful type and anyway, the one who he’d put money on as being late to dinner would be Christian and Alberto. Christian might be a bit anal-retentive when it came to timing but Alberto hadn’t had a chance to get him for a good month and a half… Adam would be shocked if he even let him get through the door before jumping on him.


	4. Chapter Three: The Price Of Swordfish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner time with the boss

“Will you stop? I just put this on and you’re wrinkling it!” Christian attempted to squirm out of Alberto’s hold, his Mexican lover obstinately trying to remove his clothing almost as soon as Christian put it on, and he wasn’t taking nearly as much care of it. “Then take it off, my little Chihuahua, and it won’t be creased will it?” Alberto all but purred and Christian rolled his eyes with fond exasperation. Although being with him had instilled a more apparent sense of humility and patience in the aristocrat that didn’t mean that he wasn’t demanding as hell and still single-minded when it came to getting something that he wanted. And right then he wanted Christian naked and spread out on the enormous, silk sheet covered bed that dominated and impressive portion of their large bedroom.

“We don’t have time for this,” Christian reminded, trying to fend Alberto off with his elbow as the Mexican seemed to think it was time to play dirty, nibbling on Christian’s ear and murmuring naughty nothings in throaty Spanish as he palmed him through his pants. “We would have had time if you’d not insisted in giving me those stupid reports,” Alberto almost whined and Christian tried not to laugh because he knew that would set him off even more. “Alberto! We have dinner soon! Can’t you at least wait until afterward?” Christian almost fell off of the bed when he suddenly managed to pull himself free of the aristocrat’s hold when the door of the bedroom opened and Ricardo walked in. Christian scowled at the man and Ricardo tried (not that hard mind) to look contrite for the almost fall.

Alberto looked at him darkly and Ricardo started to simper in rapid Spanish, and Christian could barely keep up with what was being said… although he had learned enough words from Alberto to know that Ricardo had mentioned him at least a little bit. “Alright, alright! I’ll take care of it soon get out!” Ricardo seemed to linger a moment and then started to back out of the room when it seemed like Alberto was getting close to throwing the ornamental lamp from the side at his head. Christian smirked when he noticed the man scowling at him as he scuttled out. “He still doesn’t like me,” the blonde commented absently. He wished he could care about it but he didn’t like Ricardo in return so it was hardly like there was out wrong with it. “Does he bother you Christian?” Alberto frowned slightly.

“No,” Christian started to get up and Alberto groaned as he allowed Christian to pull away and stand up. Alberto pulled himself upright and allowed Christian to pull him out of the bedroom and down to the living-room where they would wait for Ricardo to come in and bring the car around for them. When Alberto tugged on the back of his jacket Christian relented and allowed himself to be pulled back into his arms, accepting the Mexican’s kiss and leaning into him. For all he gave Alberto a hard time he did actually loved the arrogant ass-bag. Alberto actually made an effort when it came to him, and Christian couldn’t fault the way the man had changed in the time they had been together. Didn’t mean he was an opportunistic wanker though. “Alberto no!” he yelped as a hand groped him openly.

~:~

“I thought that we'd be eating at Alberto's place,” said Randy as they pulled up outside the restaurant that Alberto had chosen for the meeting. 

“He doesn't like having anyone invade his personal space,” Adam said vaguely. “He likes to keep business outside the home.”

“But is it wise to take business into a public setting?” asked John.

“Who said it was a public setting?” Adam grinned back at him. “There's the public restaurant but Alberto has interests in the area and this restaurant has a large private room. Mostly for larger parties than ours but it does the job and we'll be away from the rest of the rabble.”

John raised an eyebrow. “Are we sure that it's secure?”

“It's been swept for bugs less than half an hour ago.” Adam chuckled wryly. “The military might be used to dirty tactics, but Alberto is a businessman and he's used to worse. Shall we eat, gentlemen?”

The group traipsed into the restaurant and were shown to the private room, the first of the group to arrive. Everyone noticed that there were four men standing in the room already but left once they seated themselves. John would have bet money that they were standing directly outside the door though. Alberto, as rich and powerful as he was, was ripe for an assassination attempt and he understood there had been at least one failed attempt. With Alberto out of the way, his corporation would be likely to be in turmoil for a while and that would leave other corporations ready and waiting to take full advantage, stealing clients and workers alike, raiding the business for all that could be of use. Somehow John didn't think that Christian was a ruthless enough businessman to take over the corporation even if he had the heart for it and that would leave it either saleable or run by a committee of which Christian would probably be titular head. In any case, Christian wouldn't have the heart for it and so it was probably a good thing that Alberto took the precautions that he did.

And if anything did happen to Alberto, John had no idea what would happen to the little project he was currently involved in. That made him more uneasy than anything else. 

A waitress brought them drinks and bread and beside John, Randy absently buttered a piece and then popped it into his mouth, eyes widening slightly as he chewed and then, noticing John's look, swallowed and looked somewhat contrite. “This is really good.”

“Beat the rations we've been on before we got here.” John reached out and took a piece of bread of his own. 

“Full of carbs,” said Wade, slightly warningly. 

“Lighten up,” Cody said with a roll of his eyes. “It's one night. They're hardly likely to blimp up over a few carbs.”

Wade looked skyward, an expression of mock weariness on his face. “One night,” he agreed. It didn't surprise John that Wade was the one worried about the physiques of their boys, but he was slightly surprised that the man had voiced it. Then again, out of all of them he supposed Wade was the one most likely to consider them less men than the rest of them did. He had been the one to put them back together after all and had been aware that they would be treated as tools to do a job.

For a second John felt a pang, not just for the soldiers but for the ones who had been out with them when the bomb went off in their face. Their wards didn't even remember the men that had died with them that day and in his darker moments he wondered if they were really doing them a favour by keeping them alive in the way they had. Another part of him chided himself – without Wade's skill the four of them would be dead, or lying in an artificially induced coma suffering numerous skin grafts and painful procedures, perhaps missing limbs or so horrifically disfigured that they would never again have anyone look at them without a combination of disgust and pity. Of course he was glad they were alive and unblemished once more. He just wondered if the price they paid for it, their loss of memory and status as people, their being used by the corporation for who only knew what, was worth it.

“You okay John?” asked Randy quietly, using the chatter around them to mask the question. 

“Yeah, fine.” John managed a smile. “Just jetlagged I think. Suffering from the long journey perhaps.”

Randy nodded and reached for another slice of bread just as the doors opened once more and the guards looked into the room and then stood aside for Alberto and Christian. While jeans and shirts had been supplied for them, Alberto was wearing a suit with an expensive-looking scarf draped around his neck, although Christian had gone for a little more casual and seemed fashion-wise to be caught between Alberto's look and the one the rest of them sported. Alberto regarded them all regally, then gave a nod and strode to the head of the table, Christian following in his wake. That was when John noticed that there was another man with them, a somewhat unathletic looking Hispanic dressed in unconscious and budget homage to Alberto. He didn't take a seat, merely stood in the corner and that made John feel a little more uncomfortable than he had before. 

Alberto didn't take his seat right away, remaining standing as Christian sat and the other man went to stand against the wall behind them. “My name is Alberto Del Rio,” he announced grandly. “But you already know that. You are all working for me, as I'm sure you are all aware. What you may not be aware of are my plans for the future – but I can fill you in on those as we eat.”

He finally took a seat and John had a furtive look around the table. The soldiers looked a little taken aback, which he decided was better than impassive. Alberto probably didn't like impassive very much. Chris looked almost amused, Adam perhaps a little bored, Wade almost irritable and Cody just a touch intimidated. 

A waiter entered to take their orders, recommending a couple of items when asked. John had already noticed that there were no prices on the menu and correctly guessed that it was an expensive place, the kind that announced that if you had to ask the price of anything, then you didn't have the money to eat there. With that in mind he ordered swordfish, while Randy went for the steak. He had to hide a grin at that. He had always thought that Randy was just the kind of man who thought red meat was the ultimate in food and would look down on suggestions of salads and vegetarianism. Fortunately he could probably get away with it.

Alberto dismissed the waiter brusquely and once the doors were closed again, he looked to Wade. “These are they?”

“Yeah,” replied Wade. “Justin, Ted, Randy, Evan.” He indicated to each man as he said their names. 

Alberto regarded them critically. “Hmm. I have seen the pictures when they were brought in. That is a fine job Dr Barrett.” He continued to watch all of them, making the four uncomfortable with the close scrutiny. “That one, he's a little small.”

“That one is also equally as capable as his comrades with the added bonus of being able to sneak into places where a taller man couldn't. And not looking intimidating can be a real advantage when those facing him should be.”

Chris bristled slightly. He didn't like the crack about Evan at all, not when he knew that Evan was just as good with a weapon, just as adept in hand to hand combat. He was everything the other soldiers were, more in fact. Maybe he was a little biased but he still firmly believed that Evan was probably the most talented and able of the four. Evan himself didn't seem even slightly moved by the comments one way or the other. 

“Point well taken, Dr Barrett.” Alberto frowned slightly as his eyes went to Randy. “Strong, less vulnerable. How is their eyesight? I saw on the pictures that there was a lot of facial damage.”

“I gave you the report of this 'Berto,” Christian said quietly. 

“I know, but I found you a little distracting.” Alberto winked at Christian and a few people around the table looked startled. Usually Alberto was all business but it seemed that Christian brought out a side of him that was almost playful. John bet it was a side of him that wasn't seen very often. He also noticed that the man in the corner, who had not yet been introduced, was looking slightly angry and trying to hide it. Unrequited crush perhaps? Or just not liking that he was overlooked while Alberto's lover was always the centre of the man's world?

Wade cleared his throat quietly. “There was some more than others. I checked their eyes and did a few little optical repairs, mostly for slight pre-existing defects. The only one with significant damage to the optical nerves was Evan and I've had to do significant work there.” He became aware that suddenly Chris was watching him closely and realised that probably this was information he hadn't told the man. Oops. Well, he hadn't thought it too important to go into detail that most likely someone who had never studied extensively would not be able to understand. “I replaced the right eye completely and the left, I did an extensive amount of repair work. Another advantage Evan has is that he sees better than the others.”

Evan seemed quite impassive about this revelation but Chris looked almost horrified by the implication. And when Wade glanced around the rest of the table, Justin was pouting for no good reason he could see, the man looking at his plate silently but clearly distressed by something. Perhaps he didn't like to think about the operations that had made them all whole again, Wade certainly couldn't blame him for that. 

“Why did you not simply replace both eyes?” asked Alberto. “Why not replace everyone's eyes if you had the technology to do so?”

“Because there was no need,” explained Wade patiently. “As I said, there was damage to the facial features of all but there was only Evan who suffered damage thanks to the bomb. And if I could save an eye, then why not? It's fine now.”

“I would have thought that the advantages spoke for themselves--”

“It's too late now,” interrupted Wade, knowing it was a bad idea to be rude to Alberto but anxious not to discuss it more, not in front of everyone. Alberto might see the men as merchandise but he had never been able to. He knew damned well that they were still men, he had been the one to make them that way. And he hadn't wanted to go the route of making them supermen or adding unnecessary procedures to improve them as soldiers. He had wanted them still to be men. 

Chris was still giving him dirty looks across the table and he was pretty sure that he was going to get some serious grief off the man when they were alone, but fortunately the topic of conversation changed thanks to Christian, who recognised tension when he saw it. “How are you settling in to the new place?” he asked casually, directing the question to Ted, who had thus far been silent. Ted answered quite amicably, talking a little about the game he and Cody had played, Adam listening in carefully to the replies. The mood lightened and by the time the food arrived, the momentary awkwardness seemed to have been put aside. For the moment at least. 

~:~

Wade had been hoping for a little peace and quiet to look over his notes from the last few days. When they had gotten back Justin had seemed rather quiet himself and headed for bed almost as soon as they returned. When Wade looked in on him he was merely an unmoving lump beneath the sheets and Wade hadn't wanted to disturb him in any way. And he didn't feel like sitting in the living room while Justin was asleep next door. It was still too strange to be sharing with anyone, even if he had done it while they were away, that had been more like being back in the military. This was different, this felt like a place of their own and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. For that reason he decided to go downstairs to the room designed for their psych sessions, only to find that he had been beaten to it. Chris was already there with a six-pack on the table, one taken from it and the lid removed. Chris gave him a rather pointed look. “Take a seat Wade, and a beer. When were you going to tell me about Ev's eyes?”

“I wasn't.” Wade took a beer and dropped onto the other end of the couch, warily watching Chris. “I haven't gone into detail with any of you about what I did, partly because it's complicated and partly because it doesn't really matter. I did what I had to do.”

“And why didn't you just replace both his eyes?”

Wade sighed. “Because I wanted to keep as much of the men as possible. Partly because I thought they'd be more traumatised if they didn't recognise themselves or if I replaced too much, but mostly because it just seemed like the right thing to do. Just because you can do something, it doesn't always mean that you should. I wasn't doing what I was to make more soldiers for Alberto to send out fighting, I did it because it would save their lives and the rest doesn't really matter.”

Chris nodded. “Okay, I buy that. It was a shock though. You can't even tell.”

“I made sure that I was able to match the eyes perfectly and I didn't want it to be obvious. Had I wanted to, I could have made it so that the eye functioned even better but I couldn't do that and have it look too realistic. It seemed more important to put them all together properly.”

“You're right.” Chris took a swig of his beer. “And it's a good job, I hadn't realised until you said.”

“Where is Evan?” 

“Upstairs, reading. I just felt like getting away for a while.” Chris didn't say it but the thought of Evan missing his eyes upset him on a deep level that he couldn't seem to articulate, even to himself. Knowing there had been the chance that Evan wouldn't be reading at all if things had been different, that Wade had been forced to do so much work, had made him feel oddly bad about himself and bad for Evan as well. Every time Evan's eyes met his, it brought it back more fiercely.

“Me too,” admitted Wade, indicating his note books and smirking. “Not that I think I'll make much headway after drinking. And I'm not sure that it's the best time to get on with it, after drinking at dinner and again now.”

“So keep me company for a while.” Chris offered another bottle to Wade even thought he hadn't finished the first and Wade took it, chuckling a little and keeping Chris company for a while. 

~~:~~

When Wade went back upstairs an hour later, there was still no light from beneath Justin's door and he sighed quietly, going straight to his room and stripping to his boxers before getting between the sheets. His bed was cool and almost a relief after the events of the day. Not that he was sure he was going to be able to sleep. Usually he would still be in the lab working on some big find, or perhaps getting frustrated because there was something he couldn't quite work out. He wasn't used to dealing with people after he had tried out his ideas on them, he was used to them heading off and leaving him to perfect the experiment or else move on to something else. And yet it wasn't as if he wanted to be away from Justin. He just wasn't sure that he was the best person for the job and what he hadn't been able to say to Chris was that he had been torn between what he felt he should do in light of the orders he had been given and what he really wanted to do, which was put the men back together as close to normal as possible. 

He could check on Justin's heart and brain-waves simply through a computer. That was disturbing when he considered that he had spent more time around him than anyone else since he had moved out of home. He felt torn between the scientist, watching out for results and the man who just wanted to use what he had to make things better...

His door swung silently open and he sat up immediately, still enough remaining from his military service to reach to one side for the gun he usually kept beside the bed – except he'd only been there for five minutes and hadn't had the chance to put one there yet. It hardly mattered anyway. In the dim light, he recognised Justin's silhouette. 

“Is something wrong?” he asked, wondering why the man had come looking for him in the middle of the night. “Are you ill?”

“No.” Justin paused, then sighed quietly. “I just wondered. Why did you make Evan more useful than me?”

Wade blinked, confused. “Sorry?”

“You said so at dinner. He has more uh, upgrades than the rest of us do.”

Suddenly Justin's odd mood became clear and Wade shifted in the bed to make himself more comfortable. “Sit down a moment.”

Justin walked over to sit at the end of the bed and Wade clicked on the light so that he could see the man, looking into his eyes rather than at the torso that was on display. In his own opinion, he had done the best job on the man in front of him, he had done a really nice job although he'd had a lot of raw material to work with and that had probably helped. “Justin, I didn't do a better or worse job in particular on anyone. The reason that Ev has those extra things that you don't is because he needed them. His eyes got exposed to that junk, yours didn't. Probably because he is smaller or because there were other people who got the worst of it, it got into one of his eyes. That's why I had to do that. Incidentally I did some work on yours as well. You had a slight astigmatism that might have needed glasses in the future if I hadn't gone in there but it was just like I told Alberto, I only did what was necessary. You didn't need new eyes, you didn't get them. There's nothing at all wrong with the ones you already have.”

The eyes in question lingered on him a moment. “Is Evan more vital than I am? More useful?”

“No.” Wade shook his head emphatically. “I said what I did because I didn't like Alberto bringing up his height as a negative. What I said is true, but that doesn't mean for a moment that you don't all have things to offer that Evan might not.”

“Oh.” Justin's voice was a little quiet and Wade had the quick though that jealousy was something new with these men and not wholly welcome. The last thing a team needed was to be feeling negative emotions about each other when they might rely on them to save their lives. Then he shoved the thought away to consider later on after quickly deciding that the only reason for Justin's jealousy was that Evan might be better at something than him, not for any other reason at all.

~:~

Wade was right; it was impossible to tell which eye was his actual eye and which one had been substituted. Even though Evan could logically comprehend the thought he was still struggling to understand it. When he curiously, gently, pressed his finger against his eye they both made him feel the same, and they both felt the same… he had half been expecting one to feel like rubber, or something equally synthetic. Letting his hands drop back by his sides Evan then touched his face, watching as his mirror-image did the same in the reflective surface but in reverse. How much of his face had been wrecked before Wade had gotten to it, how badly? Had he looked like something that wouldn’t have been out of place as an extra for a zombie flick?

So preoccupied was Evan in trying to differentiate between what was actually him and what was just made to look like him that he completely missed the fact that Chris had approached his bedroom door and gently knocked. And upon receiving no answer when he knocked Chris had opened the door to find Evan inspecting himself in the mirror with an expression that spoke of someone not knowing how they should feel. Despite knowing it wasn’t fair to Wade and that they should just all be grateful that their charges were alive and good-as-new he couldn’t help but be angry; Evan shouldn’t be looking at himself like that. Evan should be happy to look at himself, appreciate that he was an attractive young man. Before he realised what he was doing Chris found himself moving swiftly.

“You can’t see anything different,” Chris murmured, quiet but firm as he braced his hands on Evan’s shoulders. Although Evan didn’t jump Chris could see that he tensed momentarily thanks to his reflection before relaxing when he realised that Chris was there. Personally though Chris felt that he was probably the one person whom Evan should have had his guard up around the most, given the way he was feeling about him. “You’re perfect Evan, you hear me? Absolutely damned perfect, so don’t let some thoughtless comments from a rich man with a big mouth make you feel any differently about yourself.” And wouldn’t Alberto be giving his ear the mother of all chews if he heard him talking about him like that? Still, that evening, intentionally or not he had been out of line more than once.

The inside of Evans chest suddenly felt unaccountably warm, and for the barest of moments he actually found himself unable to breathe. Chris was very handsome he thought to himself not for the first time, but in that moment he found himself really, really meaning it. The intense gaze that was being directed upon him through the mirror was making him feel a little light-headed and Evan found himself wondering whether he was coming down with something. Should he go and see Wade? No… after earlier he wasn’t altogether too sure he could face the doctor now. Not to say he wasn’t completely and utterly grateful for all Wade had done to him, but he wasn’t entirely too sure what he was do if he saw him then, or what he might come out and say… he didn’t want to start any fights.

“I’m not perfect Chris,” Evan lowered his eyes then, breaking their gazes’ contact in the mirror but Chris could still see his face within the mirror… and that meant he could also see what appeared to be the beginnings of a blush working over his cheeks. That startled Chris a great deal and he pulled his hands from Evan’s shoulders slowly. “You are perfect,” Chris repeated softly, meaning it with every fibre of his being, “Don’t you ever forget it, because if you do I’m gonna get pissed.” When Evan turned around Chris ruffled the younger man’s hair in a way that had Evan gently batting the hand away, a slight pout crossing onto his lips even as he tried to fight a smile. “You should get some rest,” Chris said softly, quirking a smile as he moved to the door, “Big day tomorrow and all that.”

“Yeah…” Evan said softly as he watched Chris go, feeling strangely lonely once the older man was out of sight. The sound of the door clicking shut seemed to echo around the room and Evan sighed softly and dropped down onto the end of his bed, placing his head in his hands. His cheeks felt unaccountably warm even to him, and he found himself once again questioning whether he should mention it to Wade or even Adam when he saw him tomorrow. If he ended up getting sick (could he still get sick?) then he would be no good to anyone--- most importantly he would be no good to Chris and that was something Evan never wanted to happen. Being of no use to Chris… he was honestly sure that being left do dead after what had happened to him couldn’t have been that bad.

Knowing that he was tired but being too stubborn to acknowledge it Evan began to strip himself of his clothing, neatly folding that which didn’t need washing and putting that which did into his laundry hamper across the room. Clicking off his bedroom light Evan then moved underneath the covers and closed his eyes, attempting to rest his body; they had been firmly reminded that even though they had had some things changed they were still human and as such needed to eat, drink and sleep the same way they had always had. He was still not-quite asleep though when Chris came into his room sometime later to check on him, a gentle hand threading through his hair again. It should have made Evan feel like a child, but he reflected as he finally nodded off, but in reality it made him feel special.

~::~

“Well… that could have gone worse I suppose,” Christian sighed slightly as he hung up his jacket, unbuckling his belt and then slipping his trousers onto the coat-hanger as well before hanging it back into the wardrobe alongside the rest of his smart-wear. Alberto pouted from where he lounged across the expansive bed, tanned skin set off to an even deeper shade by the pristine white robe that he was wearing, left partially open to his waist, displaying his smooth torso. “I said I was sorry,” Alberto protested, and even when he was speaking to Christian his lips still twisted in unfamiliar distaste at the word. “I told you about that sort of thing and you still had to go and ask… Don’t you care about how Evan might have felt?” Certainly the man hadn’t shown any upset, but what you saw meant little.

Alberto gave Christian a look that asked why would the man care about how the unit felt so long as he was in peak condition and could perform the way that he wanted him to? Christian sighed and gave Alberto the look that told him he was going to be in the doghouse for the foreseeable future unless he worked hard to make amends as soon as possible. “Can we not talk about work now?” Alberto requested. Even from the very beginning of their relationship they had promised not to bring work into their private quarters. The blonde looked at him and for a moment the Mexican resigned himself to the fact that Christian was going to go and sleep on the couch for the night--- Alberto was too stubborn to allow himself to be kicked out, and Christian always did it on purpose to get at him.

Because nothing pissed Alberto off more than having Christian refusing to sleep in bed with him when they were both home together. Seeing the belated puppy-dog look that he was being sent Christian found himself relenting even though he didn’t make much of a point of giving into him since it only encouraged his occasional bratty tendencies, but it was their first night together in quite a while, so… He could continue reprimanding him in the morning. Alberto recognised the very second that Christian gave in and reached out, grasping the man’s slim hips and pulling him towards the bed, sending him sprawling down onto it. Smirking wickedly as he hovered over Christian, Alberto murmured, “I trust, my little Chihuahua, that you aren’t going to want to sleep tonight, no?” Christian rolled his eyes a little.

“All night? Aren’t you overreaching a little? You can’t last that long,” he smirked and Alberto looked flabbergasted for a moment before smirking anew. “How much would you like to bet on that, Chihuahua?” before Christian could respond the bedroom door was flung open again and Christian didn’t even bother looking up to see who it was--- he knew who it was. Alberto however took the interrupted much less calmly, letting out an explosion of what Christian would swear were Spanish curses before rapidly barking out some more questions to him. Ricardo responded with the same grovelling Spanish he always used, motioning outside into the adjoining living-space, pretty insistent indeed. “Just go and deal with it,” Christian muttered, pushing Alberto back much to his displeasure.

Grumbling, Alberto bit Christian’s earlobe sharply, “Don’t even think of going to sleep whilst I’m gone,” before getting off of the bed and following Ricardo outside. Christian slipped off his boxers and threw them into the hamper, reclining back on the bed and then slipping underneath the covers. The cool, smooth sheets were enough to have him sighing in pleasure, nuzzling into the thickly stuffed goose-down pillows. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t missed the bed as much as he’d missed Alberto… Maybe more when he thought of the times the man pissed him off. Although he’d not intended to nod off it happened when Alberto had been gone for over twenty minutes… However the Mexican aristocrat was quick to bring his Canadian back around again to show him how he’d missed him.


	5. Chapter Four: Exactly What You're Meant To Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have their first proper hand-to-hand class, and Alex isn't the only one who gives a lesson that day. The handlers also find out who arranged the attack on the boys' platoon. Randy discovers that he and his fellows aren't the only ones with injuries.

“Mike! Mikey! Will you wait a minute?” Cody and Ted turned their heads as they heard the raised voices coming from the training room where they were due to meet Alex Riley for that morning’s first real combat class. When Cody suddenly began giggling Ted cocked his head curiously, prompting Cody to explain, “Mike is Mike Mizanin, one of our lawyers. He’s been Alex’s boyfriend for about two years now… and he still has issues with letting Alex out to play, so to speak.” Ted didn’t entirely understand but he couldn’t deny one thing: it was unusual how open and accepting everyone in their new workplace seemed to be about homosexual relationships. Although he was still sketchy about most of his memories he was fairly certain that people weren’t always so easy-going and accepting.

As they reached the doors to the training room Wade and Justin appeared out of a side-room where Wade had apparently been speaking to someone about arranging to go back and get his things from their prior location so that he could begin refurbishing his lab the way that he wanted to. Anyone who knew of Wade maybe only in passing knew that his lab was not somewhere where anyone else got to mess with; Wade was damned particular about where everything went and what should be changed and replaced when, so woe-betide you if you thought you’d maybe be helpful and throw out something that looked like a rusty hunk of junk that had been forgotten about because chances were that that rusty looking nothing was actually part of a huge experiment Wade was doing.

“Are they at it again?” Wade asked dryly but there was a small smirk playing around his lips even as he said it. “Seems like it,” Cody said brightly, “Shall we go in and cut the party short? Poor A-Ry probably needs rescuing now.” Wade nodded and entered the training room first, Justin right behind him. Ted and Justin’s eyes widened a fraction simultaneously as they took in the sight before them. A shirtless Alex was being backed up against the wall by a man who was slightly shorter but no less well built and in a suit that just screamed expensive. The smaller man had his hair in a perfectly styled Mohawk, and Justin was pretty sure there was a splash of dark purple in the dark brown locks. Definitely interesting for a lawyer… he had the sense that he expected them to be more… conservative.

“It’s not like that!” Alex was trying to insist but apparently the lawyer wasn’t having any of it from the look on his face. “Oh boy,” Cody startled slightly as John’s voice suddenly sounded behind him, “Looks like some new temp has been hitting on Alex again. Man, it must be hard to be that in-demand,” Cody turned in time to see Chris smirk wickedly and clap John on the shoulder as he cooed, “Like you’re not in-demand yourself, John-boy, you just don’t give them the time of day.” John’s cheeks bloomed red and he shoved Chris off, muttering something non-descript. None of the handlers noticed the dark look that crossed over Randy’s face momentarily before it melted in his usual apathetic look of almost bored nonchalance when John’s attention returned to him afterwards.

“Mike, look, they’re here now!” Alex was clearly relieved to see them and for a moment Chris wondered if they should all back out a bit and leave the trainer to his lover’s mercy a little longer. However, sadly, he wasn’t going to get the chance to because Mike was already straightening up. Tutting, the man adjusted his tie, muttered something to Alex and then walked across the training mats laid out over the floor to come level with the group. “Hey Miz,” Cody greeted and the man smirked, Ted shifting his stance just slightly at the familiar way that Mike smiled at Cody. “Codes, John, Wade, Jericho…” he nodded to each of the handlers and then cocked his head, assessing the other four, “So these are the brand new babies of the department are they?” he asked curiously.

“Considering at least one of them is older than you Mike I don’t think you should be calling them babies,” Wade pointed out but Mike merely waved a hand to dispel his words before addressing the four new men. “I’m Mike Mizanin, you can call me Miz. I’m the top legal brain around here and my job is to clean up any legal issues when you fuck up. You want to make me like you and make my job easier? Don’t. Fuck. Up.” This Miz was clearly a man who didn’t bandy around with words and even though his arrogance rankled Randy somewhere deep down (probably his own latent arrogance recognising someone who’d at least challenge him for power for show’s sake) he couldn’t deny he liked a man who spoke his mind and didn’t bandy around like a lot of people seemed to do to them.

“I see you’re still as charming as ever,” Chris smirked and Miz stuck his tongue out before then shooting a look over his shoulder, “This isn’t over Alex,” he warned, and with that parting shot he sauntered out of the training room, the door slamming shut behind him. Alex groaned, sagging against the wall, and Cody started to cackle gleefully, “You are so whipped Mr Big Bad Trainer--!” his merry-making was cut short when Alex suddenly crossed the distance between them and grasped him in a playful headlock, getting him down to one knee on the training mats. No one could have predicted what would happen next even though in retrospect it was obvious as anything that it would happen. Ted suddenly broke away from the group and before anyone could stop him he had Alex down.

The instructor looked bemused, as though he had no idea what was happening, Ted’s forearm locked around his throat and most of his body pressed firmly into the ground underneath Ted’s own. “Teddy!” Cody was startled and clearly concerned, “He was just playing! Let him up, let him up!” Ted responded to Cody’s words immediately, most likely because of the stress that registered within his tone. Standing, Ted looked almost like a lost little boy as he regarded Cody, “Did I do something wrong?” Before anyone could speak, even Wade, they were surprised when Alex was the one to say, “No Ted, you didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, you just past the first part of today’s session with flying colours. Well done.” Now Ted wasn’t the only one who was looking at the instructor in confusion as he stood.

“Ted just did exactly what he’s supposed to do--- and that is to protect Cody, no matter what. The fact that he didn’t cause me more harm showed that deep down he recognised that I wasn’t a threat to Cody’s safety, but his own instincts told him that he should protect Cody from the ‘attack’ that he perceived.” Alex smiled brightly, not showing it if he had been shaken by what had just happened. Clapping Ted on the shoulder he then indicated that the handlers should get off of the training-mat lined area, sitting at the sides to watch. Commending them all for finding loose clothing that was suitable to work out in Alex then directed them all through stretches, and soon it was almost as though the prior ‘attack’ on the young instructor by one of the new units had never happened at all.

Despite Chris’ eyes being focused on Evan it was clear he was speaking to Wade when he murmured, “Should we be concerned?” If anything Cody was the only one who still looked shaken up and that was probably out of guilt that Alex could have been hurt and that he made Ted worry. The doctor had a pensive look on his face and for a moment Chris wasn’t sure that the man was even going to respond, but then he shook his head just slightly, “Alex is right…” Wade muttered, applauding the fact that the man had apparently researched the file he was given explaining the situation most thoroughly. “Ted did exactly what he’s supposed to do. He did what all of them are supposed to do when we’re involved…” even as he said that though there was a look of puzzlement still lingering on his face.

John’s eyes followed Randy as the man flexed his strong, long form out and then prepared to face off against Alex. Whilst he was oddly flattered in a twisted way to know that Randy at least had an instinct to care for his wellbeing he was slightly terrified by the thought that Randy would attack anyone and everyone no matter the situation if he deemed John in danger… that would probably bring about more trouble upon Randy than John would ever like. Soon their conversation died out as they settled back to watch the training session, seeing for the first time as their charges were really put through their paces. Although Alex had been gotten the drop on by Ted to start with he clearly held his own against them afterwards, giving as good as he got, even though he kept losing bouts.

~:~

“Their hand-to-hand combat skills are actually above average,” Alex told the handlers some time later, having sent the units off to shower – they still sweated, although everyone noticed that they seemed to do so less. Wade might have given them a run-down of the properties of the synthetic skin he had developed and how it worked well as a cooling system in and of itself, but what had attracted Alberto to it as a boon for soldiers had been controlling body heat and smell. But mostly the handlers had decided it was mere side effect rather than deliberate. 

Alex glanced at the door as if to reassure himself that the units wouldn't be coming back at any time soon. “I've studied the file on all of them and what I'm seeing is evidence of the stuff they already know. Evan has a martial arts background for example and the first thing he did was unleash a bunch of kicks – flexible young man that one. Justin studied sports science at one point and he boxed, did a few martial arts as well. He went straight out with the punches and he knew where the best place to put them was. Randy's got a few juvenile cautions for fights, something of a history of getting into street scraps and he likes using elbows and headbutts on top of the usual army stuff. Ted has some brief mention of wrestling in high school and college and he was a quarterback as well, he was all about the take-downs, even that first attack showed that.”

“But they don't have any of their memories,” said Cody. “Why is it that they remember that stuff?”

“With Evan and Randy I suppose it's ingrained. Randy doesn't have any finesse when he gets going, the way that most people would fight in a corner, he's just better at it and he doesn't hold back. Evan has such a long history of studying martial arts that it's probably ingrained in him. With Justin and Ted... well, it could be the same thing, although it's slightly less likely. Not much though. When they're fighting they go with what they know, whether they consciously remember learning it or not.”

Wade nodded thoughtfully. “They didn't mention having ever learned anything like that?”

“No. But you were there watching, they didn't exactly make small talk. They got on with the job in front of them.” Alex shrugged. “I can improve what they're working with, obviously. And I will, since they're paying me to have your boys ready for anything at all.” He hesitated a moment as if to say something else, then seemed to change his mind. “They'll be here every day and I think I should get my hands on them before Christian does. So, how does physical training mornings suit you, some lunch and then they can get on with shooting? And then anything else that you guys think is going to help them out. But this'll be most important to them, if they're to be used for what Alberto seems to have in mind.”

“I wish he'd tell us a little more about what he has in mind,” muttered John.

Alex gave a slight smile. “I probably know as much as you do, but I'm pretty sure that they aren't going through all of this to go back out with the squads again. And we all know that there's a lot of home-grown threats. I suppose he could offer to get rid of them for the right price. Or maybe they'll be some elite tactic squad for the stuff too big for the FBI to handle. After all, Alberto already supplied a whole lot of the military for the government. Something like this could push the supply even higher. It's lucrative.” 

“There's really no point in guessing,” said Chris rather moodily. “Until Alberto actually lets us in on his little secret, it's all supposition. We might be dead wrong.”

Alex nodded, then went into a litany of what he was planning to do with them, moving from fighting unarmed to using surroundings and whatever weapons they could get their hands on, starting a conversation about the strictness of diet and what he expected the units to be fed. The handlers tuned out of it as soon as Alex said he would send them emails about that part. By the time that the units returned to the room Alex had started on about sending the units on an evening jog and the four soldiers stood and listened to it impassively. Eventually Wade managed to stop Alex's instructions by telling him that they all had to be fed. 

“Remember what I said about diet!” Alex called after them.

“I'll remember!” Chris shouted back over his shoulder. “But I might not bother adhering to it,” he muttered under his breath. “Who wants cheesecake?”

“Alex'll have our guts,” said Cody.

“Alex'll never know,” pointed out Chris. 

“Unless he's stalking us, making sure that we're doing as we're told...” Cody hummed a sinister tune and looked around in mock paranoia. Chris made as if to hit him upside the head and then remembered Ted's little display earlier and thought better of it. If Ted reacted in the same way then so would Evan and they were supposed to be holding the group together. 

Lunch at the corporation owned building was a relatively subdued affair. The food in the canteen was fine, better than similar places, but Ted hadn't spoken a word and seemed something akin to upset. He didn't show any real emotion but at the same time he was certainly not his usual self and it made Cody fret and everyone else picked up on it. He would have liked to speak to Ted alone but Christian appeared before they had finished eating with a big smile on his face, ready to whisk them off to target practice and there simply wasn't the chance. 

Target practice was never anything but loud. There were several areas dedicated to it but none of them provided a means to look on anywhere quieter than in with those being observed and private conversation was all but out of the question. For that reason the handlers concentrated on watching their boys instead of talking among themselves. That day Christian had elected to set up a practice where both targets and civilians moved smoothly on hooks and there were points either added or deducted. For an hour or so they were set up so that the soldiers could practice on at a time and then Christian gathered them together so that they could work as an actual unit. This part was the one that everyone watched with real interest, the first notable attempt at having them work together since their reconstruction. 

Before they had been the victims in the bombing, Randy had led the squad and the others had been soldiers within it, but they hadn't been the only members and the rest of the team had succumbed to the bombs effects. None of them knew that. Their memories had not included that and no one had wised them up to the fact. 

Except that it was Randy who gave a few terse orders before the practice began and he who gave commands to adjust the plan he had come up with in the first place. He was the one that noticed Ted was better at the difficult distance shots and told Evan to leave those to him, he was the one who watched the overall scene and played the strengths of the others to deal with it. He had to have been keeping close watch on the others to do so and none of the handlers had realised. Not that he didn't get involved as well, picking off the stragglers that for whatever reason were missed. 

“Damn,” said Chris as he watched them. “They're working together like they've been doing it for years.”

“They've been doing it a while,” pointed out Cody. 

“But they don't remember doing it,” said Chris, looking somewhat worried. “Shouldn't they be having more problems than this?”

“Maybe their mutual changes have rendered them better able to understand one another and Randy's simply taking on board what he's learned from observations,” said Wade.

John shook his head. “I don't think that can be all there is to it. I think on some level, they remember everything.”

~:~

Wade knew he should have expected something like it, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon. The group arrived home to see the limo outside and his face creased into a frown. He knew that could only mean one thing and sure enough, when they walked into the building the fussy little man who had been with Alberto at dinner was standing in the hallway waiting for them. He gave them all a long, rather disdainful look. “Mr Del Rio will see you in the downstairs room.”

“The psych room,” said Randy dryly, rather surprising John who hadn't realised that the soldiers called it that.

“Si.” The man would have looked down his nose at Randy had the man not towered over him. “Handlers only.”

“Say pal.” Chris put a friendly arm around the man's shoulders. “You got a name?”

“Ricardo Rodriguez,” replied the man, giving a rather shocked look at where Chris had his arm. “I am Mr Del Rio's personal assistant.”

“Yeah, we gathered.” Chris gave a deceptively cheery grin. “Here's the thing, Ricky. Our boys weren't given room keys and so you get to entertain them while we talk to the boss.”

Ricardo didn't look even slightly pleased. “I have other duties--”

“Yeah, and none are as important as this.” Chris looked over at Evan. “Ricky here's gonna be looking after you for a while. Try not to scare him too bad, okay?”

The four units gave identical, innocent smiles and Wade had to bite his lip to stop from mirroring them. For all that it sometimes seemed that they had no emotions at all, he was coming to learn that was far from the truth. They were in fact quite capable of them, muted though they sometimes were, and good humour was certainly one of them. 

Ricardo still looked rather perturbed but indicated for the handlers to go through to the converted living room with a brusque nod of his head while leading the four soldiers toward the kitchen area. No one was too worried about them overhearing, the living room had been soundproofed after all and they already knew that Del Rio would not have skimped on that part. 

The man in question was sitting on the couch, looking surprisingly at ease, checking something on his state-of-the-art phone. He didn't look up as soon as they came in but when he did, he shot them a rather smarmy smile, indicating to the two bodyguards in the room to make themselves scarce. But Wade was pretty sure that they would be close. Directly outside the room close. 

“Please, take a seat,” said Alberto politely once the guards had gone, as if he were the one who lived there – although Wade supposed that he did technically own the building and everything in it, them included. It wasn't a comforting thought and he sat opposite Alberto, as did everyone else, Cody and John balancing on the arms of the second couch. No one really wanted to sit beside the boss and without Christian there, it suddenly felt a lot more businesslike. 

“Is Christian going to be here?” asked Chris, who had always gotten on very well with Alberto's lover.

“No, he's back at home, or will be going straight there once he finishes writing his report on the units.” Alberto didn't look overly pleased by that. “But Alex mentioned that you are not entirely sure what will be happening with you and your charges in the long run. A gross oversight on my part.” 

Wade somehow doubted it was an oversight, more likely Alberto had been waiting to see that he was happy with the results before he acted, but he let it go. Let Alberto have his grandeur, he just wanted to find out what the plan was. 

“Do any of you know of John Lauriniatis?”

There was some nodding of heads and a few rolled eyes. Of course they had. Lauriniatis ran a rival corporation and Wade in particular had been subject to repeated attempts to woo him to the company. He hadn't taken the role on not because they couldn't match his salary – they could easily top it – but because he hadn't had the same level of control that Alberto offered him (and he suspected he wouldn't have gotten that off the man had it not been that he wanted to keep Wade's services). And he had to admit, when he had met with Lauriniatis, the man's vision for what he saw Wade doing had made him slightly uneasy. He was a scientist, a biologist, someone who studied medicine. His preferred area was working out how to put people back together better than they had been before, working on birth defects and debilitating injuries both. He wasn't into finding new and interesting ways to put what he knew to breaking those bodies down or injuring them further. 

Alberto gave a nod. “He has uh, caused me some problems in the past, but that is not enough to wish him harm, eh? However, my intelligence has traced the bio warfare bomb that injured your units back to his corporation.”

“What?” Cody almost exploded. “That can't be! They had military of their own in that area, why would they take out ours?”

John looked over at Cody. “Could have been for any number of reasons, since we're not exactly allies when you get higher up the food chain. But we were told it was local dissidents who had the bomb, not any militia.”

Alberto shrugged. “It was a local faction that your boys were fighting. They had bought their weapons illegally and that particular bomb is being manufactured in their labs. Did you realise that almost fifty per cent of their military profits are coming from the situation in that area? That's a sizeable amount of money for anyone. It's in their best interests to keep that war ongoing if they can.”

“Aren't our profits coming from there too?” asked Chris cynically.

“Some.” Alberto smirked. “But the militia, it is more of a sideline for us. We have many interests. The military sideline brings in money and protects our assets, true. But we rely on that money far less, I have nothing to take from that place that will be worth anything. To me, it is more of a PR exercise. Our medical division for example brings in more than the military and has a lesser outlay overall. I have no reason to prolong any military situation anywhere, I would rather end it and take the kudos. It's good for the price of shares. Whereas Lauriniatis has other considerations. I do not blame him for those but his actions in creating these weapons has caused the situation to drag out and has caused the deaths of many of the men I employ. Including the near-death of your boys and the very final deaths of their comrades.”

“Lauriniatis,” said John slowly. “His corporation made that bomb, that virus?”

“Yes. I believe we are still struggling to understand the components that make up the virus, although our scientists have managed to replicate the uh, slime that carried it.”

“Very nasty stuff,” said Wade, who had seen the results and was mildly put out that he had been so busy that he hadn't been able to work on it with them. “Acid base, eats right through skin and it can't simply be hosed off with water. We had the devil's own job cleaning them up before repairing them...” he shook his head. “Basically we were sloughing off skin just to get it off before it ate into muscles and nerves and tendons.”

Cody looked ill at the thought. “Why are you telling us about this?”

Alberto tapped his fingers against the arm of the chair. “I believe that they have declared war on us. Purely business of course but my demise would mean the corporation being thrown into disarray, si? And the devaluation of our stock would be a real problem for us. I have not killed anyone for crossing me in business but I am not so forgiving when it comes to my life and the life of those close to me. I have people working for Lauriniatis, deep cover as you say in the military. They tell me that Christian's name has come up in meetings when they discuss the little problem of my corporation. And I have reason to believe they have similar intelligence in place in my company and sooner or later, they will find out about what we have done here. Dr Barrett, could you explain the applications of your synthetic skin?”

Wade looked rather surprised that he would even have to ask. “This could change the face of medicine as we know it. There's the practical applications, such as massive trauma that could be repaired so much more easily. Burns victims who would otherwise have died – well, we saw it with our boys. And from a purely monetary viewpoint, physical imperfections would be less of a problem. Painful laser treatments would be a thing of the past when it comes to birth marks or tattoo removal. Even something as simple as the stretch marks that come with changing body shape could be ended, scars and hell, freckles. The plastic surgery industry is going to love this and that'll be payment enough before you get to the necessary operations that will result from this.”

“Exactly.” Alberto gave a little smile. “From my point of view, it is worth millions. A patent would be worth a fortune and the public relations would also be priceless. Worth stealing. Or burying until they can catch up. There's a good chance that Lauriniatis will be doing what he can to damage the corporation.”

“Wait.” John frowned. “It sounds like you want to take him out to protect your assets.”

“Not to protect my assets, although it's a consideration and I knew I should tell you that because you are smart men, you can work it out for yourselves. But there is the matter of how far they will go to protect what is theirs – especially since this new discovery of ours may well be the thing to break them. They are already behind us in every other way and our stock will be monumental with this discovery and its potential, military as well as medical. I have told you how far Lauriniatis is willing to sink for money, selling weapons to the highest bidder. I don't think it was one bomb and you yourselves should know that is not how these things work.”

“Wait,” said Chris. “You're making it sound like Wade might be in danger.”

“Wade has a bodyguard who would lay down his own life to keep him safe from any threat.” Alberto gave a thin smile as he saw the realisation dawning on Wade. “And in the meantime, we have to do something about this new threat.”

“You think our boys should be the ones to take out Lauriniatis,” guessed Chris.

“The world would be a safer place without him in it,” admitted Alberto. “His corporation would continue regardless, he has a board of directors. And I have word that it is not me he would initially go after. He would think it too suspicious. More likely he would do something as a warning and then suggest that I fell into line before the same thing happened.”

Christian realised Chris. Alberto was talking about protection for Christian and that at least made his rather thin motives appear less selfish. 

“He's not our only threat of course.” Alberto picked an invisible thread from his trousers. “There is also Layfield--”

“The millionaire?” asked Cody curiously. “What can he have done that's on a par with Lauriniatis?”

“How do you think he became a millionaire? It wasn't by playing nice.” Alberto grinned. “Trust me on this. I know.”

“We can't send the boys after someone because they're not very nice!” Cody interrupted.

“We can realistically send them after anyone we like,” Alberto pointed out. “But I would not do so without reason. I do not wipe out rivals simply because they are rivals--” He smirked. “Christian would never forgive me. But recent at home events suggest to me that it may soon be taken out of our hands. Layfield has been involved in a rather aggressive real estate scheme. You can't have – well, you have not been in Chicago of late, maybe you don't. The city has been experiencing severe difficulties with the poorer areas of the city, with the criminals and the rabble and the lowlives. Parts of the city have been simply tearing themselves apart and then in comes Layfield, clears them out and rebuilds. He owns the nice new areas and then the underclass are simply moved on to the next place, which goes through the same thing.”

“You don't like the thought of him having that much money?” asked Chris sardonically.

“That much power,” returned Alberto. “And where do you think the military that he uses comes from?”

“I'm going to take a chance and say from Lauriniatis,” replied John.

“Exactly. There's something in it for him too. Not to mention that these people in those no-go areas are getting their destructive weapons from somewhere and we already know that Lauriniatis has no problem with supply to the highest bidder.”

“Wouldn't someone have noticed that by now?” asked Cody. “Someone in authority?”

“Sure, and they have.” Alberto smirked again. “How many sneaky payments, these backhanders, do you think that Mayor McMahon took in order to allow this to continue? I have my concerns about him too. I feel that removing Lauriniatis from the equation may change the rules of the game, hell it might smash the board. We must be ready for anything at all."

~:~

“You look like you’ve got something on your mind,” John almost jumped when the low baritone sounded behind him, turning away from the window he had been sitting near, staring out of it at nothing really, to find Randy standing in the doorway. Offering up what he hoped was a reassuring smile John shrugged slightly, “You know, the usual kind of things. Nothing special. How’re you feeling? You rested up a bit?” Although they had been enhanced medically and suchlike Wade had been very firm with them about ensuring they rested regularly. If the mollycoddling attitudes of their handlers pissed them off the other four never showed it. They merely indulged them with those same smiles that they always did and obeyed whatever request had been put to them at that moment in time.

For a moment something in Randy’s face flickered, and then he moved across to sit down opposite John’s placement at the desk chair by the window to his bed. Seeing Randy on his bed, even just innocently sitting, made John suddenly uncomfortably aware. Certainly, John was no stranger to his sexual nature (in fact he had once been engaged before that had crumbled most spectacularly, after which John finally acknowledged his long-supressed desires for other men) but fancying Randy? He doubted that anyone would understand his feelings, let alone encourage him. John was pulled from his thoughts abruptly when Randy spoke, “I know that we haven’t known each other all that long in the big scheme of things… but I thought you knew you could trust me John,” Randy sounded almost hurt.

Guilt immediately welled in John’s chest and he turned to straddle the chair, missing the way that Randy’s eyes immediately dropped down to where the man’s denim-clad thighs rested against either side of the back of the chair, “It’s not a question of trusting you Randy… I trust you with my life.” And, from what Alberto had said before, that had been Randy’s function all along. But, more than that, John did genuinely trust Randy. “But you still won’t tell me what’s bothering you?” Randy supplied and John quirked an apologetic smile. Sighing slightly Randy shook his head before then sending a small smile to John, “Alright… If you can’t talk to me I won’t push it. I get what security’s like around here… but if you get into trouble over it I reserve the right to tell you what a fool you were not to tell me.”

Chuckling softly John nodded his head, “Alright, point taken,” John rested his chin on his arm as he draped it over the chair back’s top and asked, “How are you finding things here Randy? Honestly. You don’t have to tell me what you think I want to here, and if you don’t feel like talking I won’t make you.” John understood how annoying repetitive therapy could be even though it was a necessary move; he had had to spend two months going to Adam after he’d been brought into the Corp. and his arm had been almost totalled. They had deemed it intensely traumatic and John knew in retrospect that he hadn’t done himself any favours by being occasionally hostile towards the psychologist. He was a private man though and someone digging in his mind essentially rankled him.

“I feel fine,” Randy shrugged, “I’ve only got to ask you if there’s something I want, everyone’s been really nice to us so far… and you’re not making me interact with too many people so I can’t complain.” Randy wasn’t really a people person on a continued scale even though according to his bios he’d been well-liked by friends and loved by his family before the incident. Randy seemed like a man with tendencies akin to his own, John noted, apart from their tempers (on paper anyway statistically anyway) so he probably appreciated his privacy for the majority. It would explain why he had overheard Adam complaining to Christian about the fact that they weren’t very verbally forthcoming. Nodding, John smiled, “Good. I just want for you to be happy here, Randy.”

Realising that he was sounding a touch sentimental John stood up from the chair, “Mind if I use the shower?” he had had one last night but it was habit that he showered every day even if he didn’t always wash his short hair with each shower. “Sure thing,” Randy nodded, watching as John headed out of the room, following him as he went in the opposite direction towards the kitchen instead. As John showered Randy turned the TV on and ended up watching the end fifteen minutes of some sort of snake documentary, a phone-call coming through on the private in-house line from Adam to remind Randy that he had his one-on-one session later that afternoon. Of course Randy remembered but he was polite enough in thanking Adam for the reminder before he put the phone down on the man.

Heading back into John’s bedroom (to ask the man if he was going to come down to the communal areas to wait for Randy as he had his therapy, or even to come in with him because he did feel better having John there even though he never told him as such outwardly) Randy’s question died in the back of his throat as he found himself confronted with John’s naked back. There were still a few droplets of watery glittering on his skin from the shower, accented by the sunlight from the open window, and even with the towel there Randy could tell that John had a fine ass. Some strange warmth suddenly began to coil in his stomach, spreading even to his fingers and toes, a tingling sensation in the background of his awareness almost like an itch that he couldn’t physically scratch.

However, something else attracted his attention outside of that not-quite-brand-new feeling… and that was the scarring he could see around John’s shoulder-blade. They were small and mostly silvering with age, circular, and Randy doubted that he would have spotted them at first glance (let alone from a distance away) had his eyes not been… Well, helped out by Wade. Randy walked forward, placing a hand on John’s back. The man jumped about a foot, clutching his towel instinctively as his head snapped around to quickly Randy was sure he had probably given himself whiplash. “R-Randy?” he queried, trying to tone down just how much of a shock he had been given. He hadn’t heard the other come in, and for such a big man it was unusual that he would be so naturally quiet when he walked.

“What happened to your arm?” Randy asked, suddenly a little bemused. When he turned his head just to it was almost like the scars vanished, as though they weren’t on the surface but inside of John’s arm. It was like a macabre version of those holograms you got when you were kids, on novelty cards inside of sweets or whatever. “It’s--- It’s nothing Randy, it happened a while ago now,” John tried, unsure how hearing about an injury, let alone one sustained to the man whom he was instinctively bound to protect, in an army-type situation not too far off from the one Randy had been involved in. The weapons may have been different but the overall damage had been the same in a sense, and they had both been repaired thanks to Wade’s super brain and essentially unmatched scientific skill.

“Tell me what happened,” Randy didn’t seem angry but John could feel the smallest of tremors coming from the fingers ghosting over his shoulder and arm. Or maybe that was him trembling. In a way he sincerely hoped not because he didn’t want to freak Randy out. That low voice, firm, compelling and yet with an undercurrent that could almost be considered pleading, was enough to spur John into telling his tale. It was a clipped account, downplayed for the most part… and not just for Randy’s benefit. He had been very close to completely losing his arm, potentially gaining more damage… but thanks to Wade he was still whole. “See?” John tried to inject joviality into his tone when Randy remained quiet, “No big deal, I mean, you mostly can’t even tell the difference right?”

~::~

“I… I’m sorry Cody,” Cody glanced up when he heard the quiet voice from the doorway of the kitchen, smile slipping when he saw the expression on Ted’s face. The blonde had been even more quiet and subdued than normal after what had happened earlier on in the day and Cody had been trying to draw him out of it… Sadly he hadn’t been able to do much good. Even locating a real piano to let Ted play around on for a while whilst Cody arranged for an instructor to come in when there was time to teach Ted. Or, more accurately, bring out what Ted already seemed to know and yet couldn’t put any words to. “Teddy…” Cody started, but Ted held a hand up and Cody found himself falling silent almost immediately as though Ted had somehow stolen his voice with that simple action alone.

“No… I know what I did was wrong. I knew Alex wasn’t going to hurt you and I still… I worried you, didn’t I?” Ted just looked like a kicked puppy in that moment and Cody wanted nothing more than to gather that sweet Southern boy into his arms and hug him until he felt better. In retrospect he knew he hadn’t handled the situation too well personally, but in his defence he hadn’t quite understood the magnitude of the devotion that Ted had towards him. Thinking that almost brought forth a wistful sigh from the ravenette; if only he could have such devotion from a man through his own freewill and not because he was pretty much programmed to feel that way about him. “I’m sorry. And I’ll apologise again to Alex when we have out combat session in the morning…” his head was still bowed down.

Setting down the knife he had been using to chop up the vegetables for the stir-fry he had been in the midst of making for their tea that evening when Ted had come in, Cody wiped his hands on a tea-towel on the side and moved across to Ted. Placing a gentle hand on Ted’s cheek Cody gently tipped his head up so that their eyes met. It was funny to think that although Ted usually tensed if just the littlest bit when someone else touched him he didn’t seem even slightly phased whenever Cody did. Was that part of the programming too? “Teddy, really, you didn’t do anything wrong, and I wasn’t worried you just uh, startled me a little,” he admitted sheepishly. Ted looked stricken so Cody ploughed on hoping that Ted would get his point and he wasn’t just blabbering on idiotically at him.

“And Alex is totally over it. If anything you really impressed him today. He told me as such more than once. He said you’re really good at hand to hand and it’s just going to be a little bit about refining and technique when you go and see him from now on.” And that wasn’t totally lying even if Cody was somewhat changing it to apply to Ted alone as opposed to the units as a group but that didn’t matter. Ted still didn’t look overly happy and Cody cursed that he had never been very good with this kind of thing; as a child of privilege thanks to his father’s job he’d only ever hung around with certain children growing up, and in retrospect he wasn’t sure how many of those had been friends with him because they actually liked him, or how many had been his friend because of their dad’s work.

It had been something that had bothered him before he had begun working for the Corp. himself, when he had met John and Chris. Sure, they weren’t the only people that he knew within the Corp. but they were the ones that he believed were genuinely his friends. He could go to them if he needed someone to talk to and they could go hanging out together and doing the usual kinds of things that guy friends did together. Pushing that adolescent hang-up from his mind Cody then dropped his hand from Ted’s cheek and caught his hand without thinking about it and tugged him towards the counter, “Here… wanna help me out making tea?” Ted looked startled a moment and then nodded, a pink flush spreading over his cheeks. Cody noticed the reaction and a puzzled expression crossed his face.

“Teddy? Are you OK? Do you feel sick?” It was a warm day but Cody didn’t think it was that hot… especially when Ted had resided in Florida prior to the incident. “Here, I’ll go turn up the air-con,” he offered when Ted shook his head in response to being asked whether he felt ill or not. The air-con in the apartment was definitely a thing to behold on its own; the heating and cooling system ran all the way throughout the apartment and you could feel it wherever you went. Even in the bathroom which was saying something. When he came back he was only mildly surprised to find Ted cutting up the recently defrosted chicken breasts that Cody had had waiting to be sorted out on a nearby plate. “Be careful with the knife,” he found himself saying hastily, remembering the razor incident a while back.

A smile that suggested Cody was showing his mother-hen side again had Cody flushing this time, shaking his head slightly in apology when Ted said quietly, “I know… Keep the blade turned away from me, mind my fingers…” he said it as though he had read it from a checklist. And that was highly possible Cody reflected as he remembered the huge portfolios they had been given to read when they had first been brought into the Corp. on a more day-to-day basis. “That’s right,” Cody smiled slightly as he moved back to the vegetables, finishing chopping them before throwing them into the wok that had been neatly stacked amongst numerous pans and oven trays in the drawers underneath the sink. They were all clearly brand-new, though that shouldn’t have surprised him given Alberto paying for it.

Soon the kitchen was filled with the sounds of things sizzling and the warm scents of sauces and spices, the food actually turning out well when Cody was commandeering the cooking process… He was still a novice when it came to that kind of thing despite having been living on his own for a good five years plus by that point. Ted was probably the reason for that; he seemed to know when something should be changed or amended, or the second something was about to become overcooked. As Ted insisted on washing up Cody wrapped up the meals when they had cooled a bit and placed them in the fridge for re-heating later. Certainly they could have just cooked later and then eaten since stir-fry’s didn’t take long but Cody had honestly just needed something to do.

Usually he would have gone meandering around town for the sake of it but since Alberto had told them (through Christian who then went through Adam since he had more contact with them) to hold off on having them around normal people yet he didn’t want to risk it for Ted’s sake as much as getting himself into trouble. “Is there anything you’d like to do?” Cody asked Ted and the blonde man shook his head, drying his hands on a tea-towel and then neatly hooking it through the handle of a nearby drawer. “How about we relax for a bit?” Ted’s was the last therapy session that day and since the time was just coming up to the first one (Evan’s) they had lots of time to kill. “OK… I can put your game on for you if you like?” Ted knew that playing his games made Cody very happy.

A sheepish grin crossed Cody’s face, “I don’t want to hog the TV. We can just look for something to watch instead if you want.” Ted shook his head and smiled, a smile that brought out the apples of his cheeks and just made Cody want to melt; how in the name of all things ever created could Ted have been single before circumstances had left to him being brought to the Corp.? “I like watching you play your games, Cody,” said Ted with a shy but frank honesty that startled Cody into another blush as Ted finished, “—you always smile as you play, and it makes me happy when I see you happy.” Ted’s smile then slid slightly when he noticed Cody’s expression, “Did I say something wrong?” an almost sadly amused smile crossed Cody’s lips as he pulled Ted with him, “No Ted… you said it so right.”


	6. Chapter Five: You're A Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys finally get to go out somewhere that isn't the apartments or training and they make the best of their new-found freedom.

“I can’t believe that they actually went through with it,” John Laurinitus looked across to his partner in business John Bradshaw Layfield. They had met a few years back at some function Alberto had been throwing, and they had both bonded over their enjoyment of power, and their intense dislike of the fact that Alberto was walking around acting like king of the mountain with money, privilege and prestige. What had started out as general competitive dislike had become a much more concentrated hatred, especially after having the English genius Wade Barrett stolen out from underneath them by the Mexican man. And they both further disliked him because of the way he flaunted his unnatural relationship with the blonde haired man who was with him at every function, on his arm, happy.

“Well, it gave us chance to test out the new stuff,” JBL shrugged boredly, tilting back the cowboy hat on his head. Although typically a native of Texas the man had turned his back on his humble roots, now insisting to anyone he met who asked as to where he was from that he was from New York. Clearly he thought NYC fitted his rich businessman’s image more than the rough-and-tumble backdrop of Texas did. “And we know that it worked excellently. Now all we need is for the brain-trust downstairs to make some more and we’ve got a perfect weapon to use should it come down to it.” Laurinitus sighed and nodded, though a smile was playing around his lips even as he tried to seem contrite and serious, “They’re already getting started on it,” he confirmed to the other man.

“Good,” JBL glanced at his watch and then tutted, “How long does it take to get served around here?” he demanded, looking around the restaurant irritably to see where the little slip of a girl who had been their waitress had gone. When he spotted her over by the Maitre’D, giggling and flirting with another he rolled his eyes slightly and caught the eye of the Maitre’D who was returning to his station. That one look was all it took for both the waiter and waitress to lose their jobs, pink slips handed to them before the end of the shift that evening. But, almost as quickly as they were fired, two more were brought in to take their place, as though they had just been plucked, fresh and ready, off of an assembly line. “A little mean, don’t you think?” but again Laurinitus was smiling as he asked.

“They wanna mess around they can do it on their own time,” JBL said without a hint of remorse, smirking lasciviously as a heavily made-up buxom blonde approached their table, fawning over the two gentlemen the way they expected to be treated. Once they had placed their meal offers in she headed off and JBL picked up his wine-glass, sipping from it. “They’ll be thinking twice before they start messing around where they aren’t wanted from now on,” he said, finally removing the hat from his head. Such where his manners that he didn’t think to remove it before entering the expensive restaurant the way most would… and such was the amount of influence he had in the area that the Maitre’D made no effort whatsoever to request the removal of the hat or anything else from the two.

Laurinitus was taking a drink out of his own glass when he had to hastily put it down, smothering a cough with his napkin. JBL’s brows rose, “The hell’s wrong with you?” he asked and Laurinitus nodded his head in the direction of the door from where they were seated near the back of the restaurant in a private booth. JBL turned in his seat a little, glancing where Laurinitus had looked—and saw immediately what had caused the other such a reaction. The topic of their conversation had just walked through the door, an arm blatantly around the blonde haired man as per usual. JBL snorted softly as he watched them also being fawned over by the Maitre’D, led to a table and seated. Several other men entered after them, unobtrusively being seated politely with nowhere near as much fanfare.

“Guards… think someone’s getting nervous?” asked Laurinitus smugly and JBL found himself shaking his head as he turned back to him. “No, he’s not getting nervous… not yet. Right now he’s just getting cautious. And we don’t want caution. Caution means he still thinks he’s in control…” he leant back as his meal was brought to the table, surveying it with critical eyes. The waitress seemed to know the score because instead of vanishing off the way that they normally did once they had served the customer she stood waiting until being dismissed properly. Reaching for his knife and fork JBL murmured to Laurinitus, “We need to start making our moves against Christian. Take the faggot out and Alberto will go to pieces. Once he’s taken from the pedestal we can take everything ourselves.”

~::~

The following day everyone was unusually quiet. Wade had never considered the possibility that he might be a target in his own right and had been restless all night – that he was a tough man in his own respect didn't do much to comfort him when he knew he certainly wasn't strong enough to stop a bullet or that someone might set some kind of trap for him. And because he had been restless he had gotten up in the middle of the night to get a book or consider some research and found himself unable to concentrate, putting the television on low and trying to lose himself in some mindless trash. All he had managed to do was disturb Justin as well and his ward had emerged from his bedroom and at least managed to keep Wade from driving himself completely mad. Justin had given him something else to focus on. 

Randy had been lying awake, contemplating what John had told him about the injury he had received. John had made it sound like no big deal and Randy had been through a serious operation that should have seen him having a long recovery time yet had not been, so he should have been comforted. But knowing that they were practically the first ones to have the new skin that Wade had perfected made him consider and John had scars. No matter how well Wade had put them back together, Randy could still remember that he had been in screaming agony while still suffering the effects of the bomb, before Wade had knocked him out and put him back together, and just thinking of John going through the same thing had continually played on his mind. In the next room, John had been a little distracted thinking of what had transpired between himself and Randy that evening, the expression on Randy's face while he had explained what had happened. Randy had seemed relatively impassive, almost as if trying to make sense of it, but there had been something in his eyes that unnerved John, made him think of the anger that he kept expecting Randy to display and never arrived. 

Cody kept thinking back to Ted asking if he had behaved badly and the expression that seeing him happy made Ted happy. It reminded him of how much he'd love to hear those words from Ted under different circumstances, he was a handsome man and with goodness knew Cody had always wanted one of them to walk into his life, someone who seemed devoted to him and who he felt exactly the same way about – and now one had, that devotion was due to a combination of genetic modification, psychotherapy and a bio-weapon. It was enough to make him feel incredibly low, not just because of the circumstances but because believing that was what it took to make anyone have that level of feeling toward him had to have been made to was a major blow to the ego. Ted could sense that Cody's behaviour was off and it made him uneasy. 

Of all the group, it was Chris and Evan who had managed the best nights rest and even Chris couldn't say it had been wholly restful. He had trouble turning his mind off at the best of times and although it was bad practice, he ended up falling asleep with his headphones on. He ended up waking up to find they had worked their way off and had left their imprint in his cheek, which Evan seemed to find very curious and kept on trying to check him for long-term damage. Having Evan stroking his cheek had been unnervingly good and Chris had to keep telling himself off for allowing it more than was strictly necessary. 

When they pulled up at the building where they spent their days training, Adam was there to greet them and his eyebrows raised when he saw the rather subdued expressions on the faces of the group. “Are you planning to train with Alex?” he asked without even bothering with a real greeting. When the units gave the affirmative, he nodded. “You guys get to it. I want to see the rest of you, one at a time please. There's a lot of things we could all do with going over.”

He turned around too quickly to notice everyone rolling their eyes but they followed him willingly enough. The units got ready for their session and after a heated discussion and several rounds of paper-scissors-rock, John drew the short straw to go to speak first with Adam. He sighed, asked Chris to pass on his whereabouts to Randy and headed for the little room that Adam had marked for a temporary office. 

“Can we make this quick?” he asked impatiently. 

“It takes as long as it takes and your boy's having a long session.” Adam indicated to the seat opposite him and John took it with bad grace. “You seem quiet today, out of sorts. Anything in particular on your mind?”

“What could be on my mind?”

“Answering a question with another question is a classic aversion technique.”

“Whatever.” John leaned back against the chair and folded his arms. 

“You do know that anything you tell me is completely confidential.”

“Right, you said before.” John didn't believe it for a moment. He was pretty sure that Adam would run to Alberto the moment he said anything that could indicate the pet project being jeopardised. 

“So, what happened since I last saw you that's made you feel so down?”

John shrugged, realising he wasn't about to get away with not giving an answer and went for a half-truth. “Randy asked about the scars from my shooting. I was a little worried about upsetting him by going into too much detail and it kinda brought things back as well. I didn't sleep so well as a result and now all I feel like doing is having a lazy day on the couch rather than being here talking about my feelings.”

“I see.” Adam kept his eyes on John. “Have you any lingering issues with that?”

“Look, I was in the military. I knew the risks. I got a stroke of bad luck by being shot and a stroke of worse luck when they shot me twice with the kind of firepower that does real damage. And then I had some good luck when Wade was the one to put me back together. The corporation insisted on counselling and I had plenty. I'm over it but occasionally I think back to it. Randy asking about the scars was just one of those things that made me thing back over it and probably because I was concentrating more on what not to say than just telling the story as it was so I had to think about it more than I would have done. You can't tell me that remembering stuff like that isn't normal. The other guy said that it would happen on occasion.”

“Yeah, that's right, it's something that happened and a major part of your life and it's natural that you'd think about it.” Adam gave a sympathetic smile. “Of course, attitude plays a large part. Does the memory usually get you down?”

“I never even think about it,” John lied. “Except when other people bring it up and it doesn't really make me feel down any more, not now I've come to terms with what happened. It's simply that I also had what Randy went through to consider as well and that's not something I've had much chance to come to terms with yet.”

“Especially when seeing his injuries in relation to yours.” Adam nodded. “Randy is a very lucky man really. He's lost a lot but he's gained a lot too and you can see for yourself that the neurological impairment from the virus means he's not too focused on the loss part. Maybe you're projecting your own sense of loss onto him--”

“It's not like that!” John threw his hands up in disgust. “I just got to thinking about it is all. Because I dwelled on it awhile I didn't get as much sleep as I should have and that just made me a little tired today. Nothing more, nothing sinister. Just a bad night. There's nothing to be concerned about.”

Adam regarded him for a moment. “That's fine,” he said calmly. “We all have them. But if there's any more of them, I'd like you to let me know right away, okay? Now do you think that Randy was distressed to hear about it?”

“He didn't show if he was,” said John. “He was curious about the scars and asked how I got them. I told him and that was the end of it really. He didn't seem upset.”

“And yet he doesn't seem to have had a good night either.”

“He's just quiet. He's often quiet.”

“He looked pensive.”

John chuckled, mostly to hide any negative emotions. “I wouldn't say pensive. He's been pretty stoic for the most part, you know that. Just because he's not full of smiles doesn't mean he's not just fine.”  
Adam nodded, not seeming entirely mollified. “You really don't see any emotional disturbance in him?”

“If I did, then I'd be the first to tell you. I don't want him to crack at the wrong moment. But he doesn't seem anywhere near doing anything like that, to tell you the truth.”

“Okay.” Adam gave a wide smile. “Could you send Chris in for me next please?”

“Why? He seemed pretty perky this morning. Sang Iron Maiden songs all the way here.”

“And you don't like that?”

“I prefer R&B to heavy metal. I think I'm the only one though.”

Adam laughed. “I'm really just doing check-ups here. I honestly don't think there's anything to worry about with any of you but it's a lot of responsibility and I just like to keep tabs. Tell Chris not to get lost on the way, I know what he's like. I've known him too long for him to get away with that kinda crap.”

John smirked, pretty sure that Chris would try exactly that. But the smirk died as he walked out of the door and started slowly walking toward the room where the others were training, head down. He hadn't wanted to tell Adam about Randy touching those scars that he claimed had kept him awake the night before. But his mind lingered on that faint touch and the way he had felt Randy's fingers trembling lightly as they brushed against John's skin. It might be something he should have mentioned and that the memory of that was what had really been keeping him awake. But he was afraid that it would either lead to more sessions for both of them or perhaps Adam would recommend that he no longer acted as Randy's handler. He knew that Alberto would probably not accept that, given that he was already in deep and Randy would probably not have the same attachment to another handler but that wasn't the reason he kept it to himself. He kept it quiet because he intended to keep it quiet from the other handlers, from Randy himself – but if he was discharged from his current position and was no longer around Randy all the time, he would regret it forever. Randy might be charged with keeping him safe but the feeling was very much reciprocated and Randy was going to be put in some dangerous situations and it was John's intention that he would do all he could to make sure Randy got through them whole.

~::~

“Is something wrong, Ted?” the blonde glanced up and quirked a wan smile at Justin as he dropped down to sit next to him on the bench. Alex was across the training-room, having Evan and Randy sparring off against one another for practice.

Looking at the two it would seem statistically obvious that Randy would be able to chew Evan up and then spit him out again, but when you actually saw them the small man made conscious effort to hold his own, and even managed to catch Randy off-guard now and again. Alex had been drilling them individually and then in pairs since they had arrived, and although each performed with the usual undeniable proficiency it was obvious if you really looked that their hearts weren’t in it. “Not really…” Ted admitted, and then paused before sighing, “Well, OK, a little.” Justin popped the cap off of his bottle of water and took a drink, regarding Ted a moment. “Is it about Cody? And what happened yesterday?” Ted shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d guessed his issue so quickly.

Unlike when he spoke to Adam and knew that the psychiatrist was looking for hidden meanings in everything he said Ted found speaking to the others of his little group much easier. Of course, talking to Cody was also much easier than conversing with any of the other handlers but Ted never liked to feel that he was a bother to Cody—despite Cody constantly telling Ted to talk to him about anything and everything he wanted to. “I don’t know what came over me,” Ted said a little glumly, though Justin could sense that there was something more there than just the allusion to his not-quite-attack on Alex the day before. Their instructor appeared completely over the incident, not seeming the least bit wary of Ted when he had to interact with him. At least, no more than with anyone else in group.

“We can’t control everything we do,” Justin said bracingly, “It’s what makes us human,” as those words left his lips though he suddenly wondered if he’d committed something of a faux-pas against them all; they were no longer strictly what he’d just said they were. “Yeah…” Ted mumbled, taking a drink from his own bottle of water, although Justin was fairly certain that it was so he could distract his mouth from accidentally blabbing anything more than he already had. Before Justin could try and engage Ted in conversation over what was really bothering him Alex’s voice suddenly cut across to them, “Oi you two! This ain’t a tea-party!” his large grin belayed any irritation that they thought the instructor felt. Calling back to Alex the pair then set their bottles down, trading places with Randy and Evan.

Taking his place opposite Justin on the mat Ted tried to focus on what he was supposed to be doing. However, it was hard. Not only was he still pretty upset with himself for what he had done to Alex (although admittedly because of its effect on Cody), he was still thinking about last night when they had been cooking together. More and more Ted was coming to realise how much he enjoyed Cody’s company, and when he wasn’t with him he felt anxious and concerned. And not just because he just knew he was supposed to be around Cody. Something inside of Ted felt almost completely lost when the smiling, game-obsessed man wasn’t with him. Needless to say Ted’s concentration was shot enough to begin with to allow Justin to take him down without much of a struggle, surprising them all.

~::~

Evan sighed softly as he adjusted his seating on one of the low-walls around the apartment blocks. Technically he knew he wasn’t supposed to be outside but he didn’t think that really there would be a problem because he was literally on the doorstep. Besides, he had left Chris a note telling the man where he was--- Chris had been in the shower and therefore not available to ask first-hand. As of yet he hadn’t seen anyone else on his way outside, or indeed outside now he was sitting there. The ravenette sighed softly and stretched, stilling slightly when the sun refracted through the leaves of a nearby tree, dappling his hand in shadows and light. For some reason something about the artistic nature (no pun intended) made him still, just watching the way the shadows in the light shifted.

It looked almost as though the light was moving and not the shadows, although Evan vaguely recalled that all that science would probably dispute that in the light not moving. “EVAN!” the sudden shout made Evan almost fall off of the wall, turning his head to look in the direction of the shout. When he saw Chris heading towards him at a rather swift speed he frowned softly, flipping his leg over the wall so they were both on the same side and then he hopped down. “Chris—“he started, unsure as to why the other looked so agitated. Chris drew level with Evan and grabbed his arm, easily pulling the smaller man against himself without seeming to use much physical effort. “What’re you doing?” Chris demanded, eyes scanning around. For the first time Evan felt something almost akin to annoyance.

“I was sitting out here enjoying the fresh air and the sunshine,” almost immediately Chris’ expression seemed torn between guilt and anger, the blonde’s grip easing slightly. “It’s all well and good you having us walking between building to eat and train or whatever, but we’re inside nearly all the time. And sitting next to an open window isn’t exactly the same as being outside of the open.” Chris wanted to point out that it was the ‘being in the open’ bit that was causing him panic and that would probably have Christian having their hides once he found out about all this… which he undoubtedly would once Adam had. As far as Chris knew the psychiatrist wasn’t in at the moment and so he figured that if they could get inside now then no one need ever know that Evan had been outside.

Of course Chris felt bad about him being penned in, but that couldn’t be helped; they had protocols to follow, and if protocols were broken then that would undoubtedly be the sort of thing that would have units and handlers separated from one another. Curling his other hand through his hair Chris sighed gently and tugged Evan’s arm, “Come on back inside, please? We can talk about this inside.” Whilst a part of Evan wanted to refuse, wanted to insist that they could stay outside of there now because Chris was there, a greater part of him didn’t want Chris angry at him anymore than he seemed to have been. “Fine…” Evan gently disentangled his arm and then walked ahead of Chris to the door, though of course he had to wait at the door since he didn’t have a key to get inside.

Keying in the digits to their apartment once he’d used the keycard to get through the front door Chris then directed Evan back inside, glad that they just missed Wade who seemed to be heading down to the communal area for some reason. Christian wasn’t the only one who would give him an earful if he found out that Chris had allowed Evan to break ahead of schedule--- because he knew that he would be the one blamed because although Evan was mentally proficient Chris was the one ultimately responsible for him. Inside of their apartment Chris directed Evan to the living-room and then sat down beside him. “Are you bored?” Chris asked outright and Evan gave an almost twitchy action, as though he wasn’t exactly sure how to say what he was feeling. “Evan, I want you to be honest.”

It had occurred to him that the units weren’t always entirely forthcoming when it came to Adam. Not to say that they lied to Adam per se, especially not about anything important he was sure, but they didn’t go into anything more than the very basic information they needed to be satisfactory. Evan sighed slightly then and gave another shrug, “I just… It’s…” he quirked something that was probably supposed to be a smile but looked a bit too painful to be fully considered one, “Yeah, I guess you could say I am bored.” And he knew he had no reason to be on technical terms; he had lots of TV channels to watch, DVDs, laptop/internet access and his books, but it just wasn’t the same as being in a new environment. Before the accident Evan had been an avid traveller even if it was just in-state.

The words were greeted with silence by Chris who seemed to be thinking, and quite hard, about something. Finally the blonde man sighed, his shoulders visibly slumping. Something in that action had panic welling in Evan’s chest, an apology springing from the back of his throat to the tip of his tongue in .2 seconds flat, but before he could physically say it Chris began to speak, “Alright Ev. I’ll see about going into town this weekend, even if it’s just to grab a quick bite to eat or some more supplies or something OK?” Statistically they may consider it above time but if Evan was feeling this way then surely there was every chance that at least one of the others was feeling it too? Lord only knew Chris would be physically clawing at the walls if he was cooped up in the same places day-in and day-out.

“Really?” the sheer look of pleading hopefulness would have been enough to spur Chris into acting even if he hadn’t been the type of guy to follow on what he promised people. “I can’t promise they’ll let us,” and chances were they most certainly wouldn’t let them all out at once yet, “—but I don’t reckon it can hurt to try. That reminds me… If we can go out I need to pick up a new guitar pic. Remember that for me?” Chris had noticed that Evan seemed to feel more at ease whenever Chris asked him to do something, even if it was something as innocuous as, “Can you please pass the salt?” That didn’t mean that Chris took advantage of this situation of course, it just meant that he was more conscious of making an effort towards it because it made Evan feel more comfortable.

“I don’t mind if the others can’t come,” Evan said honestly, “though that would be nice. As long as you’re with me even just an hour’s worth of window shopping would be great.” And there it was again: that eager tone, open and friendly smile, that made Chris really think for a moment that Evan wanted to be around him. Mentally laughing at his own sentimental thoughts (God forbid Adam get into his head and see this shit) Chris then reached out and ruffled Evan’s hair. At least, he was intending to ruffle Evan’s hair. When the dark haired man suddenly ducked his head to that Chris’ hand met mid-air the blonde stilled in surprise, though his eyes widened when Evan nipped sharply at his palm. He didn’t know what had been more startling: the nip of the electric brush of Evan’s lips over the flesh.

~:~ 

Chris didn't have a direct line to Alberto but he did have one to Christian – they had initially ended up chatting when it turned out they were, like Adam, Canadians and from there discovered they had a lot of other things in common too. While it was a fact that their lives had taken them in directions that meant they were not able to be as friendly as they may have been in other circumstances, they were still good enough friends that they had one another's numbers and before all this had happened they had on occasion gone for a few drinks together, which Alberto had been vocally jealous of and yet had still declined to go with them; when Chris and Christian went out together they tended to hang out in bars getting loaded and talking about anything but business, which Alberto simply couldn't relate to or see the attraction of. 

As soon as Evan had retired for the night Chris went to his own room and called Christian. He wasn't entirely sure that the man would answer, since he had no problems leaving his phone to ring when he was busy with something else and tended to leave the phone in the strangest of places sometimes, but on this occasion he answered in no time at all. It occurred to Chris as he said his hellos that perhaps Christian assumed it was something about the units and in that, he wasn't entirely wrong. 

He explained to Christian that he had talked to Evan and discovered that he was bored, idly switching the phone from one ear to the other so that he could look at his palm where Evan had nipped it. That had taken him by surprise in any number of ways but Evan had merely shot him a grin that made Chris forget that he was supposed to be the man's handler and grin right back, making playful threats. A lot of the slightly manic jokes had been to cover how unsettled he felt and not in a bad way at all. Evan's lips on his hand had left him feeling like a dorky kid on his first date and he was pretty sure that realisation wasn't' supposed to make him feel good about the situation. But hell, no one would ever know his private thoughts on it, certainly not Dr Adam who he didn't intend on telling a thing about it. 

Christian listened in silence and remained quiet for several seconds after Chris had finished. “I hear what you're saying and I get it, I really do. But to play devil's advocate a moment. These aren't people who've been through a bad experience we're talking about. They're merchandise and they don't get to be bored. We keep them occupied, it's not like they're twiddling their thumbs all day. And we don't want them to fall into bad habits. They're not there to be entertained, they're primary purpose is to do the job we assign them to and distractions would not be desirable.”

“Christian--”

“Hush a moment,” said Christian almost absently. “I don't take the same line of thinking. Regardless of what happened and what Wade did, regardless of whatever effect the virus seems to have had on their emotions, they're still men and I'm not sure that we're treating them in the right way. They're full grown and have enough training behind them to be good, we're moulding them to be great and they're picking it up quickly. Frighteningly quickly, between you and me. I don't know if it's because of their former training or their enhancements or some other weird side effect of the virus they were exposed to but it's true. And in other ways they're like children, learning about life and social manners all over again. And in other ways, they're a lot like the machines that many of our men would like to believe them to be.”

“Maybe they're all of those things,” said Chris. But if they're part child and part man and part super-soldier, then that's two-thirds human and humans get bored. Training's all well and good but they need to blow off steam. They need to be treated like people!”

“And I doubt very much that even I can get you permission to take the units on a damned shopping spree so that they can have a little R and R,” replied Christian and although Chris wanted to dispute this, something in Christian's voice made him keep quiet a moment. “However. It occurs to me that our units, no matter what their status as humans – and you have to remember that they're deceased and this is what people used to charmingly call 'leaving their body to medical science' – the boys still have to pass themselves off as human, normal. The situation may call for it someday. If the plans that I'm sure the military division have for them are along the lines I'm thinking, then it might be of use to us that they're able to blend in around the general public. I don't think that Adam will have any objections and Alberto will certainly see the use in that. I'd recommend say, one day a week perhaps a few hours? Maybe something a little different each time. And I think that it would be good for the handlers as well, both to allow them some time away from the constant pressure of the assignment and even as a little extra bonding time. I'll suggest it first thing in the morning and don't be surprised if you're approached about it soon.”

Chris beamed. ”Christian, you're a star!”

“Well, enjoy it while it lasts,” said Christian soberly. “I get the feeling that if anything big does go down, or if the slightest thing goes wrong with one of these excursions, they'll be stopped and you'll be back to the usual round of training and psych evaluations. And if you want a nice Saturday stroll through the mall, it'll have to be after you've given up your role as handler.”

“That won't happen,” said Chris with a grin. “The boys want this as much as we do. They'll be good. And like you said, it'll be good for them. No good having them hanging around if they don't blend into the background.”

“Right.” Christian sighed, then his voice faded a little as if he was away from the phone. “I won't be a moment, this is work.” His voice became louder again. “I'll suggest it first thing in the morning and use all my persuasive powers to make sure it's taken on board. I might even play dirty and suggest it to the boss first.”

“If you play really dirty, then the boss will definitely go for it,” joked Chris.

“At least I got someone to play dirty with,” said Christian smugly and hung up.

Chris chuckled and put the phone aside, confident that he was going to get what he wanted, or rather what Evan wanted. His mind replayed what Christian had last said to him as he lay back on his bed, and although he had planned to come up with a time and place to break the good news to the others, he found himself dwelling more on Christian's comments. Sure he had no one to play dirty with, but there hadn't been anyone in a long time he'd want to involve himself with. Not until now and the one that he wanted was one person he could never take advantage of like that. 

On the plus side, at least he got to spend as much time with Evan as he could ever desire. 

On the minus side, he didn't get to spend it in all the ways he would have liked to. And he never could because it wasn't as if they had an equal relationship to start with. Evan wasn't in a position to say no to him and that was the reason Chris could never put him in that position. 

He wasn't at all sure if his life sucked or not.

~:~

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Alberto responded, reaching up and beginning to undo the tie he wore around his neck. Christian had noticed that for all Alberto liked to be perfectly turned out and liked his expensive clothing he seemed to have a personal aberration against ties. The scarf he always insisted on wearing seemed to be his way of substituting the item, whilst further increasing his own classiness. Most likely a deliberate move on the part of his lover Christian knew; the man was shrewd and cunning as anything when he set his mind to it, although he knew the arrogance the man displayed often led people into thinking that he was a lot more careless than he was. Sighing softly Christian stretched his legs out before him, watching as Alberto tossed the tie aside with disdain.

“Surely one day a week won’t matter? Just for an hour or so?” he tried to persuade, “It’s not as though the others wouldn’t be doing something whilst waiting for their turn.” He knew that the prospect of them sitting idle would bother Alberto too even if he would make sure to focus on the reasons such as their supposed deaths and suchlike as wanting to keep them in close. Clucking his tongue suddenly with mild irritation Christian chided, “You should have known they’d want to get out eventually. Why didn’t you just build a mall for yourself and staff it beforehand? We could have just put them in there for a while there, made it seem normal.” Even as he said it though he knew neither he nor Alberto took his words seriously; creating such fake environments would be insulting to them.

It didn’t escape either man’s notice either that the fact that they lived in the specially converted and refurbished apartment block without any outsiders whatsoever allowed to gain entrance and that that was technically creating a fake environment of the same standard. They just pushed the thoughts aside and continued as they had been: with Alberto telling Christian no. And in the grand scheme of their relationship that actually happened very little--- unless it was Christian telling Alberto no that is. Christian had been a pretty simple and easy-going Canadian boy, and even now when Alberto got a little too flashy with the cash it made the blonde uncomfortable and he was quick to put his foot down on the other splurging needlessly. He’d learnt to indulge him at least a little when offered.

As his mind drifted back to the conversation he had had with Chis, Christian mentally smirked to himself ruefully and sighed; looked as though he’d have to pull out the dirty tactics after all. Pushing himself off of the chaise lounge he had been (most appropriately) lounging on, the blonde draped his arms over Alberto’s shoulders, smiling sweetly. The Mexican’s eyes met his in the mirror, a brow quirking in that pointed fashion that let Christian know that Alberto knew exactly what he was up to, as well as still inquiring as to what he was up to in the same motion. “Please?” Christian stated simply, knowing that there was no way that Alberto would cave into him that easily. Alberto snorted softly, “No my little Chihuahua, it is best for them if they remain merely at the apartments or training.”

Sighing, Christian then tilted his head, looking at Alberto in the mirror, “Would you keep me cooped up inside if I was like them?” he knew that would catch his lover off-guard because Alberto was always quite conflicted about such things; he always claimed he didn’t want to share Christian with anyone, and yet at the same time he always seemed to make conscious efforts to show the blonde off whenever they went anywhere together. Hell, even when Christian physically wasn’t there he seemed determined to. “That isn’t fair,” Alberto muttered lowly in a tone that seemed both amused at his attempts at underhandedness and a little reproachful. “I don’t think Chris and the other handlers would see it as so different,” the blonde then paused and amended, “Apart from the sex bits that is.”

This time a most definitely lascivious grin crossed Alberto’s face, “Sex? Now you’re talking about something I am interested in—“when he saw the look on Christian’s face he sighed, realising his lover, once again, had him by the balls. If he said no then he knew Christian would not be above sulking (Alberto was certain he did it to prove a point when Alberto got upset with something) and withholding sex from him for however long he deemed necessary, or until he gave in. Whichever one happened first. “Ay…” the aristocrat sighed, tilting his head as he looked at Christian, “Sometimes you make it very hard to remember why I fell in love with you,” he joked, most likely, “-you’re nowhere near obedient enough for my liking.” Christian didn’t seem offended by this statement. He looked smug.

But that was most likely because he knew as well as Alberto did that he had given in to what his lover wanted. Muttering something in Spanish Alberto then threw his hands up lightly and said, “Alright! Alright! They may go out one day a week, but only one at a time and with their handler and another escort.” It wasn’t so much that he didn’t trust the handlers (he knew full well from the men’s characters that they would never do anything to endanger their units) it was more that he didn’t trust outsider interferences from attempting to get involved with their business. Christian’s smile grew and Alberto felt his manhood offer a feeble protest for giving in so easily. It wasn’t as though he did it easily in other circumstances, and indeed never so easily to any person who was not his Christian.

“But-“Alberto turned in Christian’s arms then, grabbed the blonde around the waist and pushed him against the wall, deliberate intent showing in places other than his face, “-you are going to have to convince me a little more that this is an appropriate course of action.” Rolling his eyes slightly, but still smirking like the minx Alberto always credited him to be, Christian gave an exaggerated sigh and then began to rub his hands up and down Alberto’s chest, the man’s shirt buttons somehow skilfully coming undone with each downwards motion, “If you insist… although I would have thought you’d realised by now that I can be very persuasive when I want to be.” Christian’s mouth covered Alberto’s before he could make the smart-ass retort that the blonde just knew the ravenette already had ready.

~::~

Needless to say when Chris received the confirmation from Christian later that evening, he felt his smile growing. If Evan’s reaction to the news was anything to go by he was about to have some seriously happy units on his hands--- and something told him his fellow handlers would be pleased too, though most likely not because of the fact that they were getting to go ‘off base’ as it were. Resolving that he would tell the others first thing in the morning when they met up for breakfast before their usual training session Chris told Evan to go to bed and get some sleep. And, for the second time in the same day, Evan startled Chris by embracing him warmly around the middle, all but bouncing off towards his bedroom, his mood apparently well and truly lifted thanks to Chris’ efforts.

~:~

Chris had been delighted by his victory but other handlers had slightly more mixed feelings about it. John hadn't been at all sure that it was the best idea for Randy to be out in a public place but Randy had been so delighted at the idea of getting his arms fixed that he hadn't been able to voice his objections. It was nice to see Randy have some kind of genuine emotion and much to John's surprise he was almost goofy with happiness. It lifted his own spirits.

Wade had pulled him aside before they went anywhere. “Just a quick warning,” he said briskly. “I have no idea whether or not a tattoo will stay.”

John stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“It's not skin John. It's synthetic, faster healing and less easy to damage. Essentially a tattoo is injecting ink beneath the skin so that there's a permanent pattern beneath. I have no idea if it'll heal and push the ink out through the skin, or if the ink will even take. Or perhaps the tattoos will stay with no problem just as it would with normal skin, but in that case it's gonna have to be a decent artist and not some cheap tat man.”

“I'm pretty sure that Randy wouldn't have it any other way.” John hesitated. “You're the one with tattoos, wouldn't you know?”

“Honestly? I think the tattoo would stay just as normal. But I haven't tested it for that kind of thing. I never thought it would be an issue or else I would have done.”

“Well, if Randy can't get ink then he'll just have to learn to live with it.” John sighed. “But I think our boys already have enough to live with. If this makes him happy, then I'd like him to have it, it's such a small thing.”

It had been with some trepidation that he had taken Randy to a local place with an excellent reputation and left Randy in the hands of a man with so many tattoos and piercings of his own that John had been mildly taken aback and unsure if he should leave Randy to the man's tender mercies – he didn't have any tattoos of his own, he figured he had enough scars without inviting pretty ones. Randy hadn't seemed even a little bothered and the man didn't show much interest in any difference with Randy's skin, although his eyebrows raised slightly when he first put needle to arm and he seemed to be concentrating quite hard on his task. When Randy announced that he wanted both arms done that day, the man tried to give him the lecture that he should let himself heal up and have the chance to recover. Randy just laughed and John ended up offering extra to have the work done at once.

“Man's gonna hurt tomorrow,” said the tattoo artist, agreeing to the extra and making Randy sign a disclaimer that meant he couldn't sue should he not like the end results or potential pain. Randy just smirked, made his mark and sat back. John thought he looked almost relaxed, not even slightly bothered about what was happening, while John himself alternated between feeling fascinated and a little ill. Still, it was amazing to see the pictures gradually reveal themselves. 

It took hours, with the tattoo artist taking several breaks for his own benefit as well as for Randy's, although Randy showed no sign of really needing one and when they were done and John had paid hundreds of dollars for the work, Randy seemed both cheery and inclined to be agreeable, checking out his new arms at every chance. There had been a lot of blood at one point but John noticed that he seemed to have healed up very quickly and more than that, the ink was getting admiring glances. Hell, Randy was getting admiring glances. The idea might have been to help him fit in, but at six-four with tattoos all down his arms and his trim waist and broad shoulders and smackable ass, Randy stood out and got noticed. 

John hadn't been in a great mood when he got back to the apartments but Randy made up for it and John felt a little bad for reacting poorly to the attention they'd drawn. At least it had made Randy happy and that had been the idea when Chris had asked if they could take the boys out. 

Wade had a couple of problems thinking of anywhere to take Justin and Justin didn't have any ideas where he'd like to go himself, not recalling any activities he'd done in the past. In the end Wade had elected to take him to a soccer game, knowing that Justin had shown an aptitude for sports. He had warned Justin that the game was called football and the word soccer didn't exist and as such should never be said to an English person. Justin had taken the information on board and found himself enjoying the game immensely. He had also found out that Wade loved football and silently vowed to learn everything he could about it. He also promised himself that he would find out all about Preston North End and what a 'goddamned Sandgrown' was.

After the match he offered to have a kick-about with Wade and the two of them whiled away some more time, getting Alex involved – Alex had been the one to volunteer to be the extra guard for their duo. Adam had gotten John and Randy (and the two of them had completely forgotten he was there most of the time) while Christian had drawn Chris and Evan. They'd needed a fourth and that had been Miz, who had been volunteered to the job because there wasn't really anyone else available and because Ted and Cody had said they were only planning to wander around the mall. That much he was sure he could cope with, no matter what he had heard about Ted having a bit of a fit. 

Ted seemed perfectly content to wander around without any plan in mind and Cody had to offer them shops to go into – the bookshop for himself, and a sports shop in case Ted wanted anything. The only thing that seemed to catch Ted's attention with any seriousness was a painting in the window of an art shop that showed a rather eerie-looking church. It was badly painted in Cody's humble opinion but he recalled that Ted's father had been some kind of preacher and he'd heard some whisper of him being against Ted joining Alberto's militia. He took Ted's wrist and tugged lightly on it, causing the man to follow him obediently. After that Ted was interested enough in things but not overly so. 

They spotted Wade, Justin and Alex on the way home playing football and Miz hailed them happily. Alex immediately offered that they should join in for football and Miz agreed, looking pleased and at least five years younger with a smile on his face and jeans instead of the suit he had been wearing when he was doing corporation work. Cody drew Ted aside for a moment. “It's just a game Ted. There's no harm done no matter who goes down, okay? You're not allowed to knock anyone over just because they get me over.”

“I understand,” said Ted with a completely innocent expression and took Alex's feet from beneath him less than five minutes later when he'd managed to get the ball from Cody. Alex rolled over, pretending to be horribly hurt and was mildly put out when he found himself being ignored. None of them were slouches at the game but Wade and Ted soon emerged as the ones to be careful of. Cody remembered that Ted had played in high school and college, according to his records. Just another thing he did well without remembering why. Justin looked mildly put out that Ted was better and redoubled his efforts until Alex announced they all should get back before he got into trouble for keeping them out. 

Once they returned they marvelled over Randy's new ink, allowed Evan to show off his new purchases and the seventeen new plectrums he'd made Chris buy and then waited for the extra guards to go home before ordering several large pizzas that they all knew Alex would not be pleased about, holing themselves up in Ted and Cody's apartment and acting pretty much like a group of friends was supposed to. It was certainly the best time that the units could remember, which wasn't saying much with their missing memories, but it was also the best night that their handlers could remember. The four men they were charged with were nothing like the occasionally emotionless, partially genetically modified soldiers they sometimes were, they acted like any other normal young men and when they finally retired for the night everyone had a smile on their faces. And Chris congratulated Evan on a truly excellent idea to get them all out of the apartments and away from training for a while.


	7. Chapter Six: Would A Girl Make It Better?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurinaitus and Layfield go back to Vince to make sure that arrangements still stand, and the one of the boys is selected for his first mission-- something that makes his handler very unhappy.

“McMahon, I mean it.” Layfield fixed the mayor with a steely gaze that was met with the inscrutable stare of a born politician, eyes that gave nothing away. “There's bad times ahead for the whole city if Del Rio gets any more of a hold on this city.”

He leaned back in the comfortable leather chair that McMahon supplied in his office, not quite daring to light up a cigar. He liked to think that he had McMahon in his pocket but the truth was that he didn't think it was a good idea to push him too far, who knew what he'd do to retaliate? Vince had a rather fearsome reputation and he hadn't gotten it all through rumour. “Alberto has made his money through any number of means and military applications are not one of them. Nine out of ten homes in the country have some kind of electronic patented to him. He's the man who bankrolls any number of medical breakthroughs and he charges through the nose for them. They make him millions every month. Those are his main projects and the military thing is merely a sideline. Or it always has been. All of a sudden he has decided to put the rest of us in a decidedly difficult position.”

McMahon raised his eyebrows, tapping manicured nails against the tabletop. “Continue. And do tell why it should matter to me.”

“There's talk that he's made some huge military advance,” said Lauriniatis from his own seat. “Gone some way to perfecting the super-soldier that has always been the realm of science fiction until now. If that's true, then I can kiss goodbye to my own company profits. More than two-thirds of our profit comes from military weapons and supplies and if my profits are affected, so are all of yours.”  
McMahon smirked. “I'm the mayor and Mr Layfield is in real estate. If your company fails, we have our fallbacks.”

“No, you don't.” Lauriniatis leaned forward and McMahon noticed with interest that he was gripping the arm rests too tightly. “Think about it. In the last four years, Del Rio has been gaining the lions share of the market and some of the tactics we used to keep ourselves in the manner we prefer, you've implicated yourselves in that right along with me. There are rules to selling military weapons Vince and the Governments main one is that we don't sell any to outside agitators – they're in a precarious position having no national army to start with. By selling to anyone with the money to buy, I've more than likely given them ammunition to use against me should there be a need. And they'll look into how it could be done. They'll look into the places where deals were made and shipments were made and they'll find that the same real estate agent owned all of them and indeed, has had several very substantial payments from my company in the past. And then they'll ask how all of this can go on in this city without any attention from the authorities, how planning permission was obtained for certain buildings, favourable legislation hurried through, why buildings were left undisturbed and locked up when there's supposed to be pressure from you to make sure that's not the case... and then research will show them as being important spots to my own little sidelines.”

Vince glared. “Is this some attempt at blackmail, Johnny? Because I have never caved to blackmail. I certainly don't intend to begin now. My ass is covered and I can claim no knowledge at all as to what your little scheme was. I don't have to know where all my campaign contributions come from. That's why I have staff.”

“This isn't blackmail Vince,” said Layfield, trying to play peacemaker. Lauriniatis was far too wound up over this whole thing and he didn't help himself when he behaved this way, while Layfield didn't tend to lose his temper quite so easily. “Johnny just wanted to remind you that all three of us stand to lose a lot if Del Rio is allowed to continue the way he has been. In the past we've tried to undercut him in the old fashioned way and it simply hasn't worked, he's expanded beyond the city. Hell, boy never really was a part of the city, just some outsider who already made a whole lotta cash and came along to tread on some toes. Hard to run him outta business when he's got so many fall-backs. We've got our guys in his business obviously but they haven't done a great job when it comes to sinking the little shit. A few details here and there, a couple of patents we've managed to get the jump on him for and nothing else. They're keeping whatever this deal with their soldiers is close to their chest and we haven't been able to find out much. The only thing we can be sure of is if these soldiers are patented and sold to the various military services, Johnny could be bankrupted, liquidated. And then the auditors come in and then a lot of things get bad for the three of us. Either we run and leave behind all we have and all we built up, leave the whole deal to Del Rio – or we make some kind of pre-emptive strike before that happens. 

Vince thought for a moment. “You really think he's got some military advantage that's enough to drive you right out of business?”

“If he really has made a super-soldier, then it's almost a certainty,” growled Lauriniatis. He had little enough information that he was very, very worried and had he been told that the soldiers themselves were more of a side effect of Wade's need for test subjects and Lauriniatis's own actions, he probably wouldn't have believed it. He saw no reason for Del Rio not to go into military weaponry and he did after all maintain a militia of his own.

“I have to admit, I don't have the same level of working relationship with Del Rio as I have with you.” Vince frowned a little. Alberto wasn't above handing out bribes, although that was done by his representatives, but he didn't hand over the really good bribes that came from overlooking illegality in the way that Lauriniatis did. He was good for the city as a whole, creating jobs on every skill level among other advantages, but he wasn't anywhere near as good for Vince's retirement fund as Johnny was. And should Lauriniatis go out of business, then the money would dry up. Unlike Lauriniatis, he could see that Del Rio didn't have a whole lot of interest in warfare of any kind in reality, biological, viral or traditional, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't utilise what he had if it meant one less rival. And Layfield was right about the potential to be caught out once Lauriniatis wasn't in charge of the corporation, the money trail would be untangled in the end and he would be found out, kicked out and disgraced. Possibly even imprisoned. He had taken a lot of money from Lauriniatis in the last few years after all and on occasion he had gotten lazy about covering it up. They hadn't been caught and getting lazy hadn't seemed like much of a risk. 

Now he was thinking he'd been foolish.

“So what are you proposing?” he asked abruptly. “I hope you realise that if you're planning something underhand, I can't be seen to be involved. There can't be anything leading back to me, not even a whisper of my involvement.”

“We understand,” said Layfield – McMahon was only useful to them as long as no one knew he was helping them out. “And there should be nothing at all to trace anything back to you, or to us for that matter. We just need a little help.”

“How?”

“If something were to happen to Del Rio's pet in the next few days, I'd recommend that the subject wasn't looked into too closely. No big arrests, no clues to go off... don't they always say that the most likely suspect is the nearest and dearest? And of course, Del Rio can afford to pay someone to get rid of a former lover while in plain sight himself. It might be a very good thing to follow that route.”

“More attention paid to Blondie's work colleagues and love life is gonna make damned sure that no one's looking at an outsider for a while,” added Lauriniatis. “And it might be of some use to find out if there's any investigators looking into it and close them down too.”

McMahon looked unconvinced. “You really think for a moment that taking out Christian will warn Del Rio off? More likely that'll just piss him off.”

“I'm of the opposite view. I think it'll take the fight outta him.” Layfield gave a wide grin. “But if it doesn't, the investigation is gonna ensure that the whole corporation is in disarray. He'll have his assets seized to stop him fleeing back to Mexico – you gotta remember, he ain't a citizen Vince. He'll be suspended from duty on the demands of the shareholders, who're watching their stock plummet. There's gonna be all kinda shit on his mind and he won't be nowhere near that building of his.”

“And while he's not, we can bypass him and all his bullshit security and guards and get what we need.” Lauriniatis managed a small, triumphant smile. “All we need to do is cause enough confusion and our guys on the inside might actually be able to get close enough to make a difference, take the patent and call it our own. Our weapons projects will be saved and we can go right on as we were before. Better maybe. Without Del Rio, we'll be making a lot more money. I never discriminate against anyone who wants to buy what I'm selling just because of where they're from. I'm not prejudiced that way.”

Vince nodded slowly. “Okay. I can make sure that the chief of police swings any upcoming investigation in the direction we want it. That's not a problem. And that's all I have to do?”

“That and look surprised.” Layfield smirked. “And show up to the funeral. You do the public relations and leave the rest of it to us.”

~:~

“I don’t like it,” Alberto muttered as he scanned the written transcript before him, frowning softly. His head snapped up and he fixed the young looking brunette sitting across his desk with a firm look, “Are you sure about this? If you’re not completely sure then I’ll—“he started, but the brunette looked impassive. If one didn’t look at him too closely, they would have maybe assumed he was related to either Cody or maybe Evan, carrying a slightly shorter build and wearing glasses much like Evan had. Josh Matthews was intelligent and attractive though often overlooked… more often than not because he wanted to be. The deceptively passive man had the ability to all but blend into his surroundings when he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. It made him the perfect mole for Laurinitus’ offices.

“Of course I’m completely sure; I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t,” Josh pointed out as he removed his glasses and pulled a soft cloth from his pocket to clean the lenses with. And he wasn’t lying: every chance he risked coming to see Alberto was one more chance wherein he might be discovered for what he was doing. And Josh had very little doubt that he would be a literal example of the good old-fashioned gangster phrase of sleeping with the fishes should he be found out by Laurinitus or JBL. Alberto swore violently and threw the report Josh had given him across the room. This seemed to be normal behaviour when Alberto read something he didn’t like because Ricardo barely missed a beat gathering the papers back up, neatly patting them back into order and then placing them on the desk.

Allowing the man a few moments to mutter away in Spanish (it was a weekend so mercifully he didn’t have to keep his eye on the clock for when he had to run back to work by) Josh then cleared his throat softly, “What would you like me to do now?” he asked, never making a move without being preapproved of it first. For all he had to fear from JBL and Laurinitus he knew that Alberto wasn’t a man he’d get off lightly with if he was caught double-crossing either. Most people would tell him he was between a rock and a hard place, but Josh would merely respond that he knew what he was doing, and that he knew who he could trust. And he knew that he trusted Alberto and his methods much more than he did JBL and Laurinitus. Alberto was sneaky, but he wasn’t crooked like they were.

For several long moments Alberto was silent, pacing back and forth in his office, hands behind his back and a frown marring his face almost grotesquely. Seeing him in such a state over the prospect of his lover being harmed was enough to prove that Alberto actually had a heart… And didn’t Ricardo looked pissed off about the prospect? Back when he had worked in his hometown’s local police department body-language interpretation had been an important part of his job, and given his ascertained knowledge of Ricardo and Alberto, that was the only reason he could think of as to why Ricardo had a look like that on his face… Josh certainly couldn’t smell anything bad. When the man finally stopped Josh pulled his thoughts from their tangent and forced himself to focus once again.

“I want you to keep monitoring the situation. The second something happens further let me know. I shall increase security around Christian when he has to leave…” if he could manage it Alberto was going to keep him as close as possible. Absently he wondered whether he could have the actives brought in already, and begin with them having tailing Christian. In all honesty the thought of his own safety meant very little when he considered Christian being injured, or worse. If that happened… Well, Alberto would act like the kind of man he usually hated; he would undoubtedly let himself fall to pieces and he would most likely not care about anything ever again. Christian gave him meaning, Christian was the one who made it worth getting out of bed in the morning… Well, sort of, anyway.

“I understand,” Josh nodded and started to stand after replacing his glasses on, waiting a moment. Alberto reached into his desk and pulled out a manila envelope from his desk. It seemed quite full, or thickened, because of whatever was in it. “This is this fortnight’s money,” the Mexican man tossed the enveloped and Josh caught it. Alberto wasn’t offended by the fact that Josh checked the amount inside; Josh wouldn’t be half of the double-agent he was if he just took everything at face value although Alberto made it a point not to scam his own employees. Happy employees were productive employees… he did like to inject a healthy little dose of job fear to his common workers now and again though when he felt that some of them might becoming too complacent in themselves.

“You’re almost at the amount you need aren’t you?” Alberto asked and Josh nodded stiffly, face impassive although his posture had noticeably tensed. Something akin almost to a kind smile appeared on the Mexican’s face, “You do realise that Wade would most likely be able to help your Jack without payment should you have just asked him.” Josh’s expression didn’t change although he nodded to acknowledge the words, “I know he would. Wade’s a good man. But neither Jack nor I have taken charity all of our lives and we’re not about to start now. I’ll pay the man anything he wants for Jack’s sake.” After all, securing Jack’s health and bringing down JBL and Laurinitus from the inside by helping their enemy seemed like a great way for him to secure a nice healthy dose of vengeance for himself.

Alberto understood Josh’s pride, especially now there seemed to be an indication that he was going to be the one in Josh’s position. “If there’s anything else you need…” he started but Josh offered something of a smile then and shook his head, “It’s fine thank you. I’ll be back in a fortnight to give you my next update, although if I hear something crucial I’ll get in touch sooner.” Nodding both to Alberto and Ricardo (more out of habit than anything) Josh then turned and headed out of the office. Closing the door behind him he sighed and sank back against the door, hand clenching around the envelope he held. Just a little more… Just a little bit more and then he could get Wade to help. Wade was a decent man, but Josh was sure the money would be an extra incentive for him over all.

Pushing himself off of the door Josh tucked the envelope securely inside of his jacket and then started back towards the main part of the Corp.’s building. On his way out he almost bumped into Cody and Ted, the pair having decided that they would have a spot of lunch before Ted’s first piano lesson. Cody would have arranged them sooner but he had figured it’d be appropriate to wait just a little bit since Alberto had been gracious enough to allow them leave out on weekends as long as they all behaved themselves. “Oh, Cody-“Josh smiled politely and Cody smiled back; Josh had started around working the same time he had although in separate divisions and Cody had always felt a kinship for him. It also helped that Josh seemed his age despite in fact being a little bit older.

“Josh, it’s good to see you again, it’s been a while,” Josh nodded at Cody’s words but then cocked his head curiously when he noticed the passive blonde besides the ravenette suddenly clenching his fist as though he had the urge to hit something--- something, roughly translating to: his face. Josh smiled at the blonde and it seemed to startle him, sending Cody a look that was almost asking for permission, or support, or both, before smiling back tentatively. “Yeah it has… Who’s this? Don’t think I’ve met him before—“Josh extended a hand, “I’m Joshua Matthews, call me Josh.” Ted looked at the hand and then reached to shake it, “Ted,” he offered back and Josh wondered whether he should have considered it more curious that the man offered him no surname to go along with his first.

“Bagged yourself a looker this time Codes,” Josh teased and Ted noticed that Cody went beacon red, feeling his internal confusion mount when it seemed for a moment that Cody looked almost guilty about something. “It’s not like that!” Cody squeaked, “We just work together!” he hoped the words came out more convincing than he thought they had, but he wasn’t pegging much hope on it. Not that it would matter much… Ted was still learning about these kinds of things anyway. Little did Cody know Ted’s stomach had tightened uncomfortably upon hearing the other’s denial, though not at the newcomer’s assumptions. “Oh… Shame,” Josh cocked his head, “You two make a cute couple alright.” Cody flailed a moment before latching onto the one topic he knew would distract him, “How’s Jack?”

Josh’s smile was still in place but for a moment he looked almost like Ted and the other units when they had first begun smiling again: his eyes were totally empty. “He’s doing better. Still in the coma but… I’m getting the money to get him better help. Soon I should have enough money,” and if something did happen to him Josh had still arranged his will and left specific instructions that all of the money in his account, the majority of which was from working for Alberto, was to be used towards obtaining Wade Barrett’s services to save Jack if possible. Even if he wasn’t sure he would succeed, he would still be paid to try. Cody’s expression turned a little sheepish, “Sorry,” he apologised weakly, knowing it was dumb but lacking anything else to say in the circumstances that would be appropriate.

Josh shrugged, smiling again, “It’s OK. Just gotta keep working for it, y’know?” he glanced at his watch, “I should get going; visiting hours will be starting soon and I like to get there before the crush starts up.” Cody bid him goodbye, Ted echoing the sentiment. As Josh passed Ted though he murmured, “You look after him… Time’s always too short to let them know how much they mean to you.” He had no idea whether or not Ted had heard him, and he knew that if Cody had heard then there was every chance that the graphic-novel loving geek would have attempted to kick his ass. Little did he knew that Ted had heard every word and it hadn’t served to ease his confusion even the tiniest bit. If anything, it had made him even more confused, Ted thought as he followed Cody along.

~::~

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Justin asked, anxiously glancing at the door that led downstairs to the psych room from his and Wade’s apartment. Randy, Ted and Evan had come over when their handlers had been called down to what seemed to be an important and impromptu meeting handled by Dr Adam. “I don’t know,” Randy shrugged, frowning a little though as he considered the way John’s expression had changed when he had answered the phone-call summoning him downstairs. “It’s probably about our first job or something,” he pointed out. It was something along those lines he was sure since there wasn’t much else they had to be concerned with was there? Evan was absently tracing one of the designs on Randy’s arm with his finger, reading some of the text in it.

Even though there was nothing remotely intimate in the touch, only apparent curiosity, Ted found himself thinking along the lines that that stranger Cody had known had spoken on earlier: they looked like a good couple. Did he and Cody really look like a good couple? A part of Ted understood that he certainly shouldn’t be lingering on that kind of consideration but another part of him wanted to explore it further… even though it seemed like there was something blocking his memory from remembering entirely how to do that kind of thing. Evan glanced up then and shrugged, “Chris told me not to worry,” was all he said, and from that the others knew that until Chris said that there was in fact cause to worry Evan wasn’t going to be expending any useful energy over speculating everything.

“I still don’t like it,” Justin muttered. He didn’t dislike Dr Adam or anything but he felt more unnerved when Wade had to talk to him… because Wade always seemed so bothered when he came back. More often than not he’d lock himself in the bathroom and have a very long shower, often coming out and then heading straight to bed. Wade often had a lot on his mind but when he had been speaking to the Dr it seemed as though he got even more on his mind. “They’ll be back, stop worrying,” Evan tried to inject some of his own personal ease into his tone but Justin didn’t seem to be feeling it. Instead he dropped himself into the seat before the laptop, tapping in a few words into the search engine. “What’re you looking at?” Ted asked curiously and Justin looked both embarrassed and defiant.

“Wade said something about a football team he liked, I’m just looking them up to see who they are,” Randy looked amused for a moment, “You mean soccer?” he asked and Justin looked almost offended for a moment, “You never call it soccer around Wade,” he told him and Randy didn’t know whether to laugh or to apologise because Justin looked so ridiculously serious about what he’d just said. “Let’s see,” Ted said, latching onto the first available distraction that he had afforded to him. “Sure,” Justin shrugged, scooting over in the chair a little so that Ted could try and perch on alongside him. Evan and Randy glanced at one another, shrugged, and then told the other two they were going to watch TV for a bit. They had no idea what the plans were for dinner that evening.

“Are you feeling any better?” Justin asked a few minutes after scanning through a few links on a website he had selected and tilted his head to look at Ted. Momentarily Ted had no idea what Justin was talking about and then he ducked his head, “Yeah… Well, I think so,” he amended, since he didn’t know how he felt at the moment. Talking to Cody would be the obvious choice as he was a little worried about what the Dr might infer from his thoughts, but at the same time Ted didn’t want to burden his handler with his weird emotions and concerns. Maybe he was coming down with something or somehow defective? It was only when Justin said, quietly but firmly, “I don’t think you’re defective at all, Ted,” that the blonde realised with mild dismay that he had spoken some of that aloud to him.

~::~

“So, that’s the way it is,” Adam sighed as he looked around at the four shocked and angry faces before him, “It seems as though Laurinitus and JBL are planning to make their move on Christian soon. They’ve already secured with McMahon that should something happen to Christian that it won’t be investigated the way it should be.” He was clearly displeased as well, although attempting to maintain a calmer persona since he was supposed to be the one who was a calming influence on those he was speaking to. Granted this wasn’t one of their typical therapy sessions but still. Running a hand through his hair Chris exhaled, leaning back in his chair some more, “Well, fuck me.” Normally one of the others would have made some smirking quip back, but this time the mood was too sober.

“So… What does he want us to do?” John asked. For all Alberto was undoubtedly pissed John somehow doubted that the man had taken leave of his senses and just wanted Laurinitus and JBL wiped out wherever they were without thought or mercy or consequence. If they wanted suicide units then they wouldn’t have been given so much conditioning or the personal addition of a handler. And if they were sent in on a kamikaze mission like that then they may well be committing suicide because there was no way the law would just let the matter pass. Adam shrugged a little and then sighed, reaching across onto his desk and handing out some papers. They were all identical copies of the same paper, and Adam held his breath a little as he watched them reading it, bracing himself.

As he had sort of anticipated, Cody was the one who reacted first, “WHAT? What the hell is this?” he couldn’t quite believe what he had read even though he knew this would be no joke. “They want Ted for the job,” Adam said, without apology and a little firmly, because Cody should have known all along that something like this would have to happen eventually. Cody wasn’t the only one who looked completely bemused, and indeed Wade’s asking of, “Is Ted really the appropriate one to play a male escort?” reflected exactly what the rest of them were thinking in that moment. Cody looked as though he was about to flip his top--- something Adam found interesting, given the force of his emotions. However, before he could even think to begin trying to analyse him, John gently pulled Cody down.

“He’s been deemed as the most appropriate choice for this recon mission,” Adam repeated flatly, “He’s going to be debriefed on what to do and then we’re going to send him out. Cody, you will be there to watch, Randy and John will go along with should they need backup or to signal the end of the engagement.” Cody’s shoulders slumped, staring down at his hands. Adam regarded the other handlers a moment before looking at Cody once more, “Objections?” he asked and Cody looked up, a determined set to his chin that they all recognised, “Ted was a minister’s son,” Cody hissed, lowering his voice even though the room was completely sound-proofed. “Do we even know that he’s done anything sexual before?” it wasn’t a stupid question though some might think it given Ted’s age.

“He only had a steady girlfriend before he broke it off with her and we have no intelligence indicating they were intimate,” Adam conceded grudgingly, but he pissed on Cody’s victory bonfire pretty sharply with his following words, “But since he won’t actually have to have sex with the target there’s no problem. All he has to do is go through the initial motions,” he smiled sweetly at Cody and handed him and John a secondary folder, although Cody’s was thicker by at least two sheets of paper, “And you’re going to be the one to teach him the steps, Cody. You have a week, unless something else happens to cut down the time, so I suggest you get practising as quickly as you can. That’s everything I had to say unless you have any more questions for me. No? OK, goodnight then boys.”

~:~

The four filed out of the room, Adam following and the last thing the doctor saw before he left the building via the front door was Cody heading up the stairs – storming probably wasn't too strong a word. He raised his eyes but left the man to it. He was a little concerned about how strongly Cody had come over when it came to Ted's involvement, it seemed like something a little more than protectiveness over his ward, but there wasn't much to be done about it at that moment. The last thing they needed right now were complications and changes to the plan. Alberto was pissed and if he was right, more than a little frightened over his partner. He wouldn't care about the reasons behind Cody's fear or Adam's concerns, he would simply tell them to get on with it. He hadn't exactly been pleased about waiting a week before putting a plan into action but thought if necessary to both protect Josh and themselves. Too soon after the little talk that Lauriniatis had allegedly had with his buddies and they would know they had a mole and might be able to narrow it down with a simple process of elimination. A few more days and there would be too many suspects to do so. And besides, they needed to know the movements of their targets and it was a week before their window opened. 

He had to admit though, he didn't envy Cody one bit. 

John caught up with Cody after Wade and Chris had broken off to go to their own apartments on lower floors. John had the top floor and had to go that way anyway and Cody, while not flagging, hadn't been able to keep up the bad-tempered stamp all the way up the stairs, either that or he had decided to go slamming doors and shouting probably wouldn't help Ted's feelings about the situation. Then he remembered that all the units were downstairs and probably waiting for Wade to kick them out and decided speed was going to be the key here. “Hey, Cody. Wait!”

Cody turned his head, slowing but not stopping. “What?”

“I know you're not happy about this and I'm kinda surprised. But you saw our files. Ted's the most likely to fit the bill for what's wanted. And we knew it would come to this sooner or later.”

Cody huffed out a breath, finally stopping his climb and turning. “I know, I know. I don't have to like it all that much though. Would Ted do something like this if he was completely himself?”

“I don't know. Probably not. But who knows?” John sighed. “But this is the whole point of Alberto's little plan. Wade might have had honest reasons for his replacements and he might not have been real comfortable adding some of the things that he did, but Alberto wants a return on his investment and he's decided to collect. And since it means Christian's continued safety? I think perhaps it's not as bad a thing as it might be otherwise.”

“I don't want to even ask him to do this.” Cody looked perturbed. “It's not just the plan, I was readying myself for that. But that whole escort thing. I never saw that coming.”

“None of us did.” John met Cody's eyes. “But you need to treat this as damned important. If Ted gets found out, if anyone suspects him for even a second, there could be real trouble. He's tougher than the average soldier but he's not invulnerable. You're gonna have to put aside any feelings about how much you don't like this, know that our complaining isn't going to change a thing and get him prepared. Or it's Ted who could find himself out of his depth and in up to his neck.”

Cody nodded slowly. He had known that all along, but John vocalising it brought it to the fore in a way that just knowing it hadn't. “I know. And I will. By the time that fucking date comes along, he'll be as smooth as I am.”

“Shit, we're all doomed.”

“Fuck you,” returned Cody, but he was smiling. “I'm smoother than a baby's behind I'll have you know. I got the moves. Ted'll be the perfect date, just like I am and no one'll suspect that he's anything other than what he says he is.”

There were footsteps on the stairs and a moment later Randy and Ted caught up with them, giving the two a rather curious look. Neither one seemed outwardly impatient but both men could sense the need to know what was happening from their boys. “We'll say goodnight now Cody, Ted,” said John, indicating for Randy to follow him up to their own floor and leaving Cody and Ted to let themselves into their own apartment.

Cody unlocked the door and ushered Ted inside, looking at the man and hanging tight to the folder in his hand. He didn't want Ted having a casual glance through it before he had time to sit with the man and go through the plan in a calm, straightforward manner. “Would you like a drink? I think I should make us a drink.”

Ted looked slightly confused. “I'll make them. You sit down for a few moments.”

“I've got something I need to talk about with you.”

“Uh-huh.” Ted didn't seem terribly interested on the surface but Cody could read his expression pretty well by now and Ted was certainly not as indifferent as he appeared to be. “I'll make us the drinks and we'll go through it.” He vanished into the kitchen and Cody took a place on the couch, giving a longing look at the X-Box and wishing that it was just another night when the two of them had nothing much to do and Ted suggested a game because he knew that it made Cody happy to play. 

Ted returned with two glasses of orange juice, placing them on the coffee table and sitting next to Cody. “What would you like to talk to me about?”

“Well... you know that we were talking to Adam downstairs?”

“I know. I imagine he had either concerns or orders.”

“He doesn't have any concerns, not about you anyway.” Although Cody wondered if he had any concerns about him after how angry he had been at Ted being selected for the job. “But yeah, he came along with orders. It's your first mission and you'll be playing the biggest part in it.”

Ted nodded but the smallest smile crept onto his face. If there were no concerns from the psychiatrist and he had been selected to play a huge part in their first real mission, then it was a sign that no one else thought he was defective, the way he had been starting to suspect that he was. Everyone else seemed so comfortable with their situations while he was attacking people and unable to say anything right and needed a warning not to do any injuries before playing a ball game with friends. To find out they had faith in the way he was progressing was almost exciting. 

Cody didn't miss the smile but he thought that it was more to do with the mission than the show of faith and frowned a little. He hadn't thought that Ted was that anxious to get back into the thick of things, especially since he didn't remember being involved in it before. 

“It's not as straightforward as it seems,” he said rather warningly, not wanting Ted to go into any situation without a fair bit of caution. “You don't even know who your target is yet.”

“Does it matter?” asked Ted. “I just have to take them out, isn't that right?”

Cody gave him a hard look. “What do you think is gonna happen?”

“Well... if they chose me to do the main part, I'd imagine it's something to do with sniping. I'm better at that than anyone else, even Evan or Randy.”

Of course he was, thought Cody. The records showed that one of Ted's hobbies outside of the militia had been hunting and by all accounts he had been pretty good at it. Cody wasn't too sure how he felt about hunting for ones food when you could get your meat from the supermarket without the effort and blood but it did at least seem to have taught Ted something. That kind of thing bred stealth and a damned good aim from a distance. “It's nothing like that. You'll be at close quarters – and this is the target.”

He took a picture out of the file and handed it to Ted. Ted took it and his eyes widened. “That's a girl!”

Cody didn't know whether to laugh at Ted's outrage or roll his eyes over the misplaced chivalry. “Yeah, that's a girl all right. Maryse Oullette, professional hitman. Or hitperson if you wanna be politically correct. Officially she's freelance but she's done work for some men in the city before, including a couple of those who want to make life hard for all of us.”

“Even you?”

“Yeah, even me, indirectly.” Cody wasn't quite sure what had brought that question on. “Actually, these guys would probably be making Wade's life hardest of all of us but they wouldn't be above causing problems for me or anyone else involved in our current project. And if they achieve their goal, then all of our lives might be very difficult and potentially shortened.”

Ted looked suspiciously at Cody. “Who are these guys you're talking about?”

“I don't wanna say too much because I've not been given permission to fill you in on that part. Let's just say that two of them have big money and the other big power. The breakthrough that Wade made with how well he managed to operate on you means that Alberto could be making money off it—”

“How? Why wouldn't Wade make the money?”

“Oh, he will and probably get a Nobel or whatever prize they hand out for that kind of thing. But Alberto provided him the means and because of that, the corporation gets the patent. That means Alberto gets rich as well and chooses how to market it. It's long and kinda dull but Wade won't be cheated out of money if that's what you're thinking.”

“I suppose I was. Go on.”

“Well, if Alberto becomes as success as Wade's discovery could make him, it would have serious repercussions on these people and they'd like to stop that from happening. A straight assassination on Wade would do no good, the research is there and even though he was the one to come up with it, there's no reason that his work can't be followed by anyone with an equivalent medical degree. And targeting Alberto would be suspicious and might not even have the desired effect. But if they were to target Christian then there's a good chance that Alberto would be lax in his day to day duties as he mourned and make it easier to steal the patent perhaps, or even take over the corporation themselves and access it that way. The skin that's covering you right now Ted, it's something new and with so many potential applications that it's worth a lot of attention and more money than you or I could dream of. I'll bet that Wade and Alberto both could buy everything their hearts desired and still not make much of a dent in the proceeds.”

“So these men want the patent, or to ensure that Alberto can't have it put to wider use.”

“I think that might be it, although Adam wasn't convinced. He doesn't think they know that much and that what he's heard about you guys is to do with the whole – well, what rumour says you are. Some kind of advanced soldier.”

“I think he'd be disappointed,” said Ted with a smirk. “We're not that advanced really.”

Cody sighed quietly. “I know but they don't know that. I think they're seeing one-man killing machines, military applications. Whatever the reasons are, they're declaring war. One of our informants heard a plot over Christian's life and obviously we don't want it to come off.”

“So where does she come into it?” Ted indicated to the picture of the sultry blonde in the picture, one that seemed to be a capture from an excellent security camera rather than an actual photograph.

“Like I said, she's been used as a hitman before. It's perfect really. Her usual MO is to follow her victim to their room with some story for getting in, or at least getting an audience. Sometimes she offers uh, favours and sometimes claims to be in need of help, whatever she thinks will work. She likes to get up close and personal for a while beforehand so she'll know what will work for her. She's a very attractive woman--” This part said rather sourly. “And she doesn't look like a threat to anyone. Straight men would give their left nut to get next to this woman and anyone else, well, like I said she doesn't look much of a threat. And that's the mistake. They come out of their rooms thinking that she isn't a danger to them, they step over the threshold and away from safety. Even if their goal is to push her away or whatever, she always comes face to face with them.”

“And assassinates them.”

“Right.” Cody glanced over at the picture of Maryse again. “She's French-Canadian originally, former playboy model, speaks four languages and is a whole lot smarter than the wide eyes and huge boobs suggest. And she's very deadly. Of all the assassinations that we've attributed to her, only two of them were killed by gunshot. She likes it close, personal and quiet, no attracting attention. She gets in, gets the job done and tries her best to leave her victims so they won't be found for hours, until she's long gone.”

“So why not just arrest her?”

“She's not even in town yet,” Cody said patiently. “Our intel says she'll be here at the end of the week. And no one has ever proved that she's a threat. Not one person. There's never any evidence of her at the crime scene and on the rare occasion that she does, it's only stuff that proves she was in the room rather than some vicious killer.”

“So how do you want me to deal with her?”

Cody pressed his lips together a moment. “Because Maryse likes to stake out her guys so she knows how to lure them out – hell, I suppose her being so memorable they trust her all the more because they've met her before. “ He grimaced internally. “She usually strikes right after the victim has been socialising. She'll show up where they are, whether it be a party or a restaurant or whatever. She has a date on her arm, every inch the good girl who's able to travel a lot. Most people think she's a socialite. They mingle at the party and hang out in the restaurant and when the target turns up dead, she's usually got a damned good alibi.”

Ted mulled this over. “So, you think if she'll strike next week... is Christian going to be on a date?”

“Of sorts. Fundraised for military widows and children. He and Alberto will be there and I think that's when she'll strike. She likes to go to those with a date on her arm, one who's really her alibi. She rents them. Picks them up form a very reputable place as close to her liking as she can get and then take him to the party. He goes to get the car while she makes the hit, waits for maybe a half hour but doesn't go anywhere since he's being paid for it and it's usually her car he's behind the wheel of, and then they go to some hotel and bounce the bedsprings all night long. And so she's got someone to vouch for her if anyone thinks to ask about her and she leaves town at the first chance anyway. Not to mention that she doesn't look like a killer...”

Cody dropped his gaze. “Alberto pulled some strings. You are now the guest escort at some brothel and this time when Maryse asks for a blonde with good muscles and an ability to hold conversation, you are going to be it.”

Ted frowned slightly. “Brothel?”

Oh fuck... “A company of sorts, where people go to hire other people for sex.”

Ted looked suddenly worried. “Do I have to have sex with her?”

“No! God no. All you have to do is turn up to meet her, make nice, act smitten with her and then when she asks you to wait in the car afterwards, you don't.”

Ted nodded, thinking. “Why did they pick me instead of someone else?”

Cody sighed. “Maryse has used this same place before and she always asks for the same thing. Blonde for preference but it's not all that important, tall, muscular, intelligent enough to make good conversation. It ruled Randy and Evan right out, she always specifies no tattoos and Evan's too short. She probably would have settled for Justin but not only are you closer to the physical description but you're uh, quicker to pick things up.”

“You don't think Justin's that bright?”

“He is, but he's got a different range of interests than you. The thought is that you'll be more able to understand the kind of things that she might want to make small talk about.”

Ted wasn't at all sure why anyone would think that, he hadn't shown any interest in the news or the world outside of their group particularly, but when he groped for the thought it eluded him and he somehow couldn't raise enough interest in himself to pursue the thought. That should probably have struck him as odd but he just didn't care all that much.

“So, we've got a week.”

“We've got a week.”

“Won't Christian think it's a bit strange that I'm there with a date? Especially when I'm not supposed to be there and no one's supposed to know about me? Or is he expecting it?”

“No. Uh... He's going to be told that you're all milling around and I'll be in the area as well, we all will. He'll be told it's a security thing and that's true. Alberto would rather he didn't know he's been targeted because Christian's the kind of man who'll want to deal with it himself and Alberto's the kind of man who wants to deal with it for him.”

“I like Christian.” Ted shrugged a little. “I don't like keeping him in the dark.”

“You have to, it's up to Alberto to make the rules and tell the truth.” Cody managed a smile that didn't look wholly genuine. “It's up to me to get you prepared for it. You'll need to do a few things with me. We'll learn small talk, how a certain type of woman expects to be treated, things like that.”

“Uh-huh.” Ted bit his lip a moment, still deep in thought. “She has to believe that I like her?”

“That you don't mind pretending to like her at least. And that you're not a threat We need you to pass as maybe a bit clueless and suave – wait, no. Maybe just a veneer of sophistication. We'll have your hair done and the right clothes--”

“Don't you like my hair?”

Cody was slightly derailed by the question, which sounded almost hurt. “It's fine Ted, there's nothing wrong with it but since your op it's grown back uneven and she'll expect you to be groomed. You're lucky it's growing back at all, Randy's having a couple of problems in that area.”

Ted snickered and then grew serious. “Won't it be weird for you?”

“What do you mean?” 

“Well...” Ted looked horribly uncomfortable. “You said you'd have to teach me how to behave on a date, like I'm infatuated with this woman right up until she takes off after Christian and I go after her and neutralise her. So I'll have to act that way when you're teaching me, right? And you were embarrassed when that man Josh thought we were uh, like Alberto and Christian. I don't want you to be embarrassed. Maybe we should see if there's a girl who can do it.”

Cody's heart sank. “Would you be more comfortable if we had a girl instead?”

Ted hesitated, about to let Cody off the hook and say yes, actually, he would be way more comfortable if Cody were excused doing something that he had shown all the signs of not wanting. And then he remembered what Josh had said about time being too damned short. He couldn't quite fathom what it was about Cody, if it were mere protectiveness he felt for the handler as he was supposed to or if it was something else, it was all so strange, but this was a chance for at least a little pretence and what the hell was wrong with that?

“I wouldn't like a girl to do it,” he said. “She'd only laugh at me or something. I'm a soldier, I'm not good at this kind of thing. I'd rather you were the one to help me out.”

He thought he saw a flash of something in Cody's eyes – relief? Happiness? It was gone in a moment and the handler was all business again. “That's good because I'm not even sure we have a woman who'd be able to work with you. I can teach you how to be the perfect date, just like me. But let's do it tomorrow. I'm tired and I think I'll head to bed.” He got up and smiled at Ted. “You should be thinking about it too. Mind if I take the bathroom first?”

“Sure,” replied Ted casually. But his mind was racing. Cody honestly hadn't seemed too bothered about being the one to practice being good boyfriend material with him, but earlier that day he had nearly had a heart attack at the suggestion that he and Ted were together. He found it all very confusing and it was probably best that he kept his distance. Except that was no longer possible and he wasn't sure how to act for the rest of this upcoming week for the best.


	8. Chapter Seven: Let Me Teach You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin surprises Wade whilst Ted and Cody prepare for his upcoming job.

“You’re upset,” Justin commented once he and Wade were alone in their apartment and Wade startled slightly. It still surprised him how well Justin seemed to have gauged his moods and expressions when even those he considered friends still had trouble discerning his feelings most of the time. Granted he wasn’t exactly an open sort of person, but still. “Uh—“Wade couldn’t very well deny that he was a little, because there was every chance that Justin could have been the one picked out for… that job. It didn’t escape him that it was just a touch ironic that he was so bothered about one of their own pretending to be an escort when essentially their function for being ‘brought back’ as it were, was to act as essentially a very private and select militia. “I… Guess that I am a little bit,” he finally agreed.

Justin’s hand planting firmly on his chest made Wade pause, a momentary lapse that seemed to be enough to give Justin the leverage that he wanted because he pushed Wade down into the nearest seat and then headed towards the kitchen. Confusedly Wade found himself just sitting, unsure what Justin was doing, waiting for him to return. When the other man returned with a mug braced carefully in his hands Wade couldn’t help quirking a small smile when he realised what was contained within the mug. Tea wasn’t something a lot of Americans drank and so Wade often had a good supply since there was no one to share it with. Apparently Justin had caught onto his habitual drinking instead of assuming that he drank that god-awful coffee the way the others did. “Careful,” Justin handed it over.

“Thank you, Justin,” Wade murmured softly, cradling the cup in his hands and allowing the sweet aroma to soothe him a little. A good cuppa always reminded him of home and a calming influence was much needed right then. As he lifted the mug to his lips though the Doctor realised that there was something else in the mixture bar water, milk and sugar. “Justin?” he queried and Justin looked a little defiant if uncertain, “I heard Mike telling Alex that a little shot of that helps you feel better when you’re stressed. I only put a little bit in, honest!” Realising that Justin was genuinely upset over the thought of doing something Wade didn’t like Wade patted the seat next to him, “I just didn’t know you even had access to any of that… Where is it?” he soon learned Justin had only borrowed a little bit.

Supposing that he should have words with Mike about being willy-nilly in the handing-out of alcoholic beverages Wade merely drank the tea in relative silence, composing his mind and wondering how much he could tell Justin. Since he was going to be there as back-up it seemed silly not to tell him the entirety of the situation--- and nothing in the folder Adam had given him, or that Adam had said, said he couldn’t tell Justin everything about the mission. It was just the other units that had to be kept relatively in the dark because they weren’t to be involved and may end up accidentally saying something to someone else and jeopardising the mission. Not that anyone believed that they would deliberately do such a thing even for a moment. “Justin… Do you know what an escort is?” he asked.

“An escort? Someone who accompanies someone somewhere,” he recited, Evan having told him about a character in one of his books who had been charged with escorting a prisoner to and from some place or another. Wade looked amused and a little uncertain, “Well, yes, and no. In this context an escort is someone who accompanies someone to some function or another, and then provides them with certain services afterwards.” Justin cocked his head, brow furrowing somewhat in puzzlement as he seemed to be trying to understand. “You mean sexual services?” the unit asked and Wade mentally cursed; of course Justin was going to begin to remember/learn about that kind of thing, what with the access to the internet and films, and curiosity spurred from the relationship they encountered around.

“Yes,” Wade nodded and Justin looked even more confused, so Wade decided it was best to stop pussy-footing around the issue and just to tell him. “Ted is being charged with escorting a woman who is a suspected, known, but never proved, assassin. We believe she has been charged with attempting to assassinate Christian in a week’s time. You and I are going to be there, along with Cody, to make sure that nothing happens to Ted, or to provide him back-up should he need it.” Sexist though it may have been under other circumstances Wade doubted that he would have perceived a woman as enough of a threat that it would take two of their advanced boys to take her out. But this one was no ordinary woman. Wade just hoped it went as smoothly as they anticipated that it should.

“Ted has to have sex with a woman,” Justin repeated, and something in his tone made Wade pause a little; for all he had changed the man a little he couldn’t change what their sexual preferences were, what they liked and so on, they knew that deep down even if they couldn’t outwardly answer that they liked such-and-such were they asked by someone else. “Yes,” Wade said slowly, wondering if that was disdain in Justin’s voice or whether he just had no idea how else he was supposed to react to the information he had been given. “Wait, no,” Wade amended, “He has to act like he’s willing to haves sex with this woman. He isn’t actually going to sleep with her.” Was it warm in here all of a sudden? Wade awkwardly adjusted the collar of his shirt and then decided to just undo a few buttons instead.

“Oh…” Justin fell quiet for a few moments as well before then turning a little more in his seat to look to Wade. “Why Ted?” once again it seemed as though he was being overlooked; he didn’t know why but he felt somehow like he was letting himself and Wade down by now having been the one to be picked… Even though he didn’t relish the thought of having to act as though he was really keen on some woman. Especially when that woman apparently wanted to cause harm to someone whom he quite liked. “Ted fitted the physical description best out of you all,” Wade answered automatically, “It’s nothing to do with an overt ability one of you possesses.” He realised that might have been a bit much given what Justin had asked, but when the other relaxed a little Wade supposed it hadn’t.

“So I just have to make sure Ted doesn’t get into trouble?” Justin asked and Wade nodded. Justin immediately shrugged, “Sure I can do that,” to him it seemed relatively simple and straightforward. The thought of causing a woman harm did sit somewhat uncomfortably with him (he’d never hit a woman… he was sure he’d never hit a woman before anyway) he knew he’d protect Ted and Christian at the end of the day if it came down to it regardless of whether it was a man or woman attempting to cause either of them harm. “I know you can do it Justin,” Wade assured, starting to stand up. “We should think about heading to bed soon and getting some rest.” Justin nodded, assuring Wade he’d go to bed in a few minutes; he just wasn’t exactly tired in that moment. Wade hesitated, but agreed.

Just as he reached his bedroom though he heard Justin calling his name lightly. Curious, Wade paused, one foot over the threshold of his room the other outside, turning his head to see Justin walking towards him. “There is one thing I’m sure I can do better than Ted can,” the smaller man said and Wade’s brow furrowed. The Brit had long since removed the faux glasses so Justin could easily read the puzzlement in Wade’s eyes. “What’s that?” he asked, jumping a little when Justin’s hands suddenly enveloped both sides of his face. His hands were completely steady and held his face as though he had held him like this hundreds of times before. Wade was so paralysed in surprise at this action that the kiss that followed was almost overshadowed by it. Almost. Not entirely. Not at all.

It was a small action, a very chaste exchange, but Wade felt as though someone had plugged him into a live current. Every fibre of his being, each droplet of blood, seemed to sing at that tiny action. When it seemed as though Justin was about to pull back Wade’s body instinctively relaxed--- a great choice or a severe lapse in judgement depending which way you looked at it as Justin suddenly surged forward again, and this time his tongue was inside of Wade’s mouth. It was probably thirty second later when Justin pulled back, flushed but smug looking, murmuring, “Goodnight Wade,” as he turned and walked away, vanishing into his own room as he left Wade standing there, dazed and confused. Wade didn’t know how long he stood there. All he knew was how wrongly right that had felt.

~::~

To say Cody was more nervous than a mouse ready to run from its hole to try and steal some cheese from under the watchful eyes of a cat would not be an understatement. His experience with the opposite sex although wanted, was limited, and it didn’t help when he had no idea as to what Ted’s preferences were… Especially since he probably didn’t know how to be put-off about the thought of two men involved if that wasn’t what he was interested in. And since he had only ever been documented as having a girlfriend… Cody would have bet that once upon a time Ted had been politely indifferent to homosexuality at best. That was doubly true considering that he had been a preacher’s son. Cody groaned softly, resting his forehead against the bathroom mirror mid-shave.

He and Ted had been excused from hand-to-hand and shooting training that day so that they could get started on their ‘special training’. And hadn’t he wanted to smack Adam right in the mouth given the way he had said that? Cody’s sexuality wasn’t exactly a secret even though he personally didn’t make a habit of going around and telling everyone. Apparently, when he had asked Chris and John how they had known, they had said they had gathered from his attention to personal appearance and his behavioural tendencies i.e. freaking out and shrieking in a high-pitch that completely belied the fact that his balls had dropped when he discovered someone had eaten his special imported chocolate truffles that he had received from his parents for his birthday. It was like his very world had ended.

Exhaling a hard breath Cody grimaced; he could only imagine what the others would say if they knew how nervous and even a little excited over he was at the prospect of interacting with Ted like this. Ted hadn’t chosen him because he wanted to do these kinds of things with him. He was doing it only because he was obligated through his job, and also because Cody was the lesser of two evils for Ted’s ego. A knock on the door had Cody startling a little bit, nicking himself in response. Hissing softly Cody almost whimpered at the thought of a cut on his face and then called, “Yeah?” wearily. Ted’s voice sounded back, “A woman’s just buzzed in Cody… Said her name was Layla and we were expecting her?” even the confused tone of voice Ted had was attractive damn him. Cody sighed.

“It’s OK Ted, you can let her in. I’ll be out in a minute OK?” Ted responded in the affirmative and moved away from the bathroom, leaving Cody alone to nurse his unrequited feelings and his cut face alone. Applying moisturisers and other aids to his skin Cody then exited the bathroom and ducked into his room. Changing into some jeans and his Batman t-shirt Cody then padded out into the living-room--- to find Ted was currently being assaulted by what seemed like yards and yards of tape-measure. “Uh, Layla?” Cody queried and the petite, dark haired woman stopped her almost insane measuring, a look of relief flooding Ted’s face as she did. Cody tried not to laugh; their resident tailor had that effect on people. “Cody!” her accent was similar to Wade’s, though with a lilt of American.

Originally Layla El had been a dancer in some high-end strip club, found by Alberto when he had been travelling. Her advances may have been rejected but when Alberto discovered that she was the one who had dressed every person in the club he had entrusted her to make a suit for him for a formal occasion… the end result apparently far-surpassed even his expectations and Layla had been working for him ever since. When they needed expert attire the former British native was the one they called. “Darling how are you?” she chirped, cheerful as ever as she bounced over to him and kissed his cheek. Her smile dimmed considerably though when she noticed the t-shirt Cody was wearing. “What have I told you about this ratty old thing? It does nothing to flatter your figure!” she chided.

Ted’s stomach twisted slightly at the unknown woman’s familiarity with Cody, and he couldn’t help inputting, “I think the t-shirt looks good on Cody.” When Layla turned to look at him, her brow arched imperiously, Ted had the sudden urge to quail… and it was a little embarrassing given that Layla was about a foot and a half shorter than he was. Clucking her tongue Layla then sent Cody a small look, “I’m jealous. You have a hottie like that defending your awful t-shirt,” shaking her head she then returned to Ted and continued taking measurements even as she addressed Cody, “So what kind of thing are we looking for, for this one hm?” Cody swallowed thickly as Layla stripped Ted’s t-shirt off without batting an eyelash, startling Ted a little if the look on his face was anything to go by.

“Formal,” Cody said, hoping that his voice wasn’t as raspy as he thought it was. Since Layla didn’t react he assumed that he had managed to get away with it. “No, wait, formal-ish,” he amended, knowing that Layla would know what he meant. Although Cody liked clothing himself it was difficult to try and dress Ted in a way that was supposed to entice this woman. No, he wasn’t jealous. Being jealous wasn’t something that he was allowed to do. “OK…” Layla finished jotting something down on her notebook and then turned to Cody, “You. Out.” When Cody stared at her Layla’s expression turned firm, “I can’t work when someone else is watching, Cody, you know that. I need to concentrate on my work and so that means, Cody dearest, that you need to piss off for a little while,” she said flatly.

Cody heisted a moment before then looking to Ted. He wished that the man looked upset about the prospect of Cody leaving for reasons other than he was programmed to feel that way… and that Layla terrified him. “Ted, do whatever Layla needs you to do for the outfit OK?” Cody mumbled, trying not to act too unenthused about what was happening because he knew that his moods affected Ted’s moods. “Yes Cody…” Ted responded glibly although he still looked unhappy himself. Cody then headed out as he had been directed to, finding himself in the communal area downstairs since the others were all out at practices. Lunchtime came and went and Cody still hadn’t been summoned back up to see how things had progressed with Ted. He’d have been bothered if he hadn’t known Layla’s work.

She literally made the outfit then and there. And, sadly, Cody already knew that more so than before Ted was going to look absolutely stunning in an outfit that had been made for him, just for him. It was about an hour after lunch when Michelle returned downstairs, grinning like a fiend, and told Cody that he could go back up. Taking a breath he then made his way back up the stairs. Seeing what Ted looked like, he was keen to do that, but at the same time he was concerned about what he was going to do should he see Ted looking so perfectly turned out. Layla’s associate and best friend Michelle had arrived about half an hour before she had just left, to cut Ted’s hair. She did hairdressing on the side, though Cody didn’t actually know her enough to know what her job was.

Entering the apartment Cody almost fell back out of the door and downstairs when he saw Ted. He was dressed in classic black with a white shirt, but the small details and accents Layla had added, especially leaving out a tie or bowtie and opening Ted’s shirt by several buttons… Well, Layla had certainly made the classic look seem brand-new and so very Ted. And his hair? Well, it was perfectly styled, lightly gelled and completely level, accenting the different contrasting shades of blonde and occasional brown that the man possessed. Cody almost felt like he could cry; trust him to meet the absolute perfect man when there was no way in hell he could do anything about it in good conscience and not at the risk of his job. Layla seemed oblivious to his internal agony, “Well?”

Throat drier than the Sahara Cody managed to say, “You look perfect Ted. Really.” Layla scoffed but seemed pleased all the same, fussing over brushing some invisible lint from his jacket before then addressing Cody on how it should be washed and suchlike. Once the woman was gone, and Ted and Cody were left alone, Ted nervously touched the side of his newly styled head. “So… I look OK then?” he asked. Fishing for compliments wasn’t something that he always did but when it came to Cody, especially after the mixed signals he had been receiving, Ted just wanted to know one way or another what Cody thought about him. Cody’s smile was sad, jealousy choking him as he said honestly, “You’ll be breaking hearts left right and centre Teddy. Man, I almost wish that I was your date for the event.”

~::~

“I think we should make those two do dinner for all of us this evening,” Chris grumbled as he stretched, sighing slightly. John chuckled a little and tossed down another card. Evan and Randy had asked if they could shoot for a bit without them standing at their shoulders, and Justin and Wade were in the training maze--- the area where cardboard cut-outs and 3D models were introduced to the environment, some being good guys and civilians whilst others were bad guys, putting it basically. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Ted might be getting pretty good in the kitchen but Cody doesn’t get any better no matter how hard he tries. Pretty face but pretty useless in the kitchen,” he laughed, Chris chuckling along. They weren’t really making fun of Cody, it was the long-standing joke they had.

“I see Randy seems to be pleased with the tats?” Chris commented, indicating the fact that Randy had now taken to wearing t-shirts or even just a wife-beater poncho to show off his arms some more. John glanced to where his active was, almost jumping when Randy suddenly glanced up to the observatory area and smirked at him in a roguishly charming way that made John feel disgustingly weak-kneed even though he was sitting down. Man, even a virginal school-boy wouldn’t be so affected by a look he was sure. When Randy turned away the moment passed and John cleared his throat, directing his attention back towards his cards, “He’s just pleased it’s staying on. I was a bit nervous about letting him shower--- I had visions of the ink just washing off of his skin like it was never there.”

“That would have been a bit of a pisser,” Chris agreed as he dropped another card down and smirked when John swore. He’d lost his fourth hand in a row. “Wow champ, you’re playing shit today? Something wrong?” he was only teasing but when he asked the question his eyes were serious. John cleared his throat softly once more and shook his head, pleased when Justin and Wade’s return meant that Chris couldn’t somehow trip John into talking about just how much attention he had been paying to Randy’s ink… and not just because he was there to ensure that the other was taking proper care of himself, and therefore the ink he was decorated in. Helping Randy rub Vaseline into the images after they had been done had been both a jaunt to heaven and a trip to hell all in one.

~:~

Chris dropped the subject and gathered the cards up to shuffle. “You in Wade? Justin?”

“Sure.” Wade dropped into a seat beside John and Justin took the seat next to him. “Deal me in but be ready to lose your shirt.”

“Good luck, we're only playing for quarters.” Chris smirked and indicated to the small pile of silver in front of him. “And I'm too good for Cena here. You in Justin?”

“I don't know how to play,” Justin admitted quietly. 

“We'll teach you.” Chris dealt three hands out deftly. “Watch Wade for a couple and then once you've got the idea you can join in. We'll explain it as we go along.”

It was actually much harder work than he had thought it would be. Wade seemed quiet and contemplative, half the time he wasn't paying attention to the cards and seemed to forget that he was supposed to be helping Justin to learn. Chris had seen him in similar moods before but not nearly as pensive; it had always been about work before and usually he would reply to a query with some spiel about hybrid polymers or something equally riveting. This time he merely mumbled that he was fine and made an effort to get himself focused again and that suggested to Chris that science was not on his mind. And then there was John, who didn't seem to be quite himself either. When he had been shot he had gotten quiet in the same way for a while until he realised that being out of the military and into intelligence wasn't as bad as he had feared it was going to be.

By the time Randy and Evan finally appeared with Alex in tow, Chris was richer, Justin was starting to grasp the game and John and Wade both seemed to be making a conscious attempt to bring themselves out of their moods. Randy smirked as he saw the money on the table. “I hope you're not taking them for all they've got John.”

“Trust me, he's not.” Chris looked over at Evan and winked as he swept the small amount of money off the table. “You guys are living off noodles tonight, me and Ev are living the high life.”

“You let him beat you?” Randy looked oddly disappointed. 

“I let him win,” replied John. “Lull 'em into a false sense of security and then the next time when the stakes are a bit higher than a quarter, I'll take him to the cleaners.”

“Good strategy,” said Randy cheerily. “Let's eat. And then we can get on with it.” He shook his head. “Poor Ted, having to miss it. I'll bet he's not having nearly as much of a good time as we are.”

~:~

Cody had been over the plan with Ted several times – the main part of the plan anyway. They expected that Maryse would hang around the party being charming, leave the party at more or less the same time as Christian and Alberto did (preferably after driving some kind of wedge so that Christian left alone, which was not unheard of but not essential) and ask Ted to wait in the car under some pretence, using the bathroom or taking an important call. She would head into the hotel they were staying in, the same place as the party was, then knock on the door with some ruse to get someone to answer it. Since Alberto was the one taking the fall, she might pretend to be someone with a call for Christian instead, or find some way to incapacitate him should he be the one to answer the door – although it was more likely from the man's personality that it would be Christian replaying to someone knocking. Then all she had to do was take him out and leave as quickly as she had arrived, without attracting attention. There were any number of complications that could arise but Maryse had the confidence not to panic and if anyone could pull it off without being caught, it was her.

Ted would have to play clueless, act like someone who could converse well but never suspect that the woman he was out with was anything less than a rich lady who wanted a date for the night. When she stepped from the car to 'make her call' or whatever excuse she used, he would follow her, determine that she was targeting Christian and then stop her. Cody didn't go into immediate detail about that part but he knew what the end result would be; Ted was supposed to kill her before she could strike, send a message to those who had hired her. He would make sure that part was understood before the night in question but he didn't want to put that on Ted's mind so soon before...

On the other hand, Ted probably knew and it didn't seem to be bothering him much. The beforehand part was what he was getting a little tense about. 

Cody hit upon the bright idea to pretend to be Maryse, not that he was going to go as far as to dress the part. Their kitchen became the party and their chicken salad lunch became the meal that would be served at the fundraiser. Cody suspected that before the bomb, Ted would have been more than able to hold his own on a casual date with a lady and make her feel special but everything had changed now and he needed to be certain. If Maryse spotted him for what he was or even thought he was an idiot, she would send him on home (or worse if she worked it out) and they would have to go to plan B to stop her. And their plan B had been the same plan that had failed to work against her when other people had utilised it.

“You'll arrive at the hotel she's staying at,” Cody informed Ted as he stood slightly nervously in the living room. Ted had changed out of the suit and into casual gear, which was both a good and a bad thing. Cody felt a little less distracted by his appearance but he would have liked a little more secretive ogling time. Not that Ted didn't look good in his casual gear as well. “So let's start off with you at the door.”

Ted nodded and Cody had thought he might look amused, but he seemed to be taking all a little more seriously than the idea of Cody pretending to be some femme fatale should have been taken. He went out of the door and a moment later Cody heard a loud, short knock, four raps in some vague pattern. So far, so good. He waited for ninety seconds before going to answer Ted, who gave him a large grin – and damn, was that seduction in his eyes? Suddenly Cody wondered if he should have asked Layla to stay and take care of this after all. 

“Oh, hi,” he said with a quick laugh that was as close to a girlish giggle as he would allow himself – just because he was gay didn't mean he had to be completely effeminate. “You must be from the agency. I'm Maryse.”

“Tim,” replied Ted, giving the fake name they had eventually decided on. He reached out his hand to take Cody's, holding his eyes as he let the touch linger for a little too long. For a moment Cody completely forgot that he was supposed to be acting a part, imagining that Ted was at the door just for him. Ted moved his hand, acting as if he were about to kiss Cody's hand but released it instead and Cody was able to snap back to reality. 

“I'm pretty sure she'll just leave the room and go for the car,” he said, breaking character for a moment and sounding rather nervous as he did so. “But we'll just uh, stand in the hall since we're not driving anywhere, okay?”

Ted nodded, looking a bit concerned himself and then put same smile on his face, the change so quick that Cody felt a little disoriented – and hell, he would give anything if Ted would turn that smile on him and mean it. He quickly groped for his Maryse character again. “So Tim, where are you from?”

'Tim' chuckled. “I'm from Alabama,” he lied smoothly and Cody would have never believed that it was a lie if he hadn't known – he had selected a place that Ted had never lived in that was close enough to explain the faint accent. He just hoped that it worked. Ted gave a slightly depreciating shrug. “Some small town on the border. Got out as soon as I had the chance. It's much more exciting in Chicago.”

“Why Chicago?” asked Cody lightly. 

Another one-shouldered shrug. “I went out to college here and decided to stay. I liked it a lot and there seemed to be plenty of opportunity.”

“If that's the case, how did you end up in this line of work?”

“Is that the polite way to ask me what's a nice boy like you doing in a job like this?” Ted gave an amused laugh and Cody felt derailed all over again. He certainly never taught Ted to say anything like that and he suddenly felt as if he wasn't play-acting at all. If Ted felt the same way, he didn't show it. “The company I was working for closed down – times are tough for everyone I guess. I'm looking around, but I gotta pay the rent in the meantime.”

Cody nodded – Ted was sticking to the story they'd come up with for him, remembering the history for the man he was supposed to be, which was more than he could do for the man he was. It was slightly unnerving just how good Ted was at it. Cody would have no reason to question Ted's behaviour or story had he not known what the reality was.  
“Have you been working for the agency long?”

Ted looked up, screwing up his nose as if he was trying to remember. “You'll be my... second date,” he said with an air of secret confession and looked back at Cody with the air of a naughty child   
confessing to something he'd done wrong. Cody couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. Ted was a natural at this, with him at least and he was so damned likeable that Cody wouldn't blame Maryse if she decided to cancel the hit and spend the whole night with Ted instead. Although she'd better not. The idea for Ted being new to it had been his, just in case she noticed that he didn't act much like her usual escort, and he had almost lost out on that one because there had been the thought that she wouldn't want someone inexperienced at her side. Cody had won though and now he was wondering if it was needed, because Ted was so damned good at acting like he was genuinely interested. But Ted pulled off the newbie look with such aplomb that he was rather glad that he'd come up with it.

He decided that had been enough time for a potential car ride and headed for the kitchen, Ted right behind him. He went to the table and was a little surprised when Ted was right there with him, pulling out the chair for him. He suddenly understood why even the most independent women were secretly rather fond of chivalry, it was rather nice to feel that someone was paying that much attention. 

Ted also brought the food to the table, which Cody hadn't really been expecting and wouldn't happen when Ted was at the actual party but he didn't object. Ted had impeccable manners he noticed for the first time, eating neatly and managing to hold conversation without speaking with his mouth full. This was the kind of thing that had to have been ingrained since birth and Cody found himself grateful to the people he had never met, the parents that thought their middle child was dead. That realisation gave him a stab of real guilt. 

He'd never thought that it was important to give Ted any kind of background in world news or local politics but Ted had been doing his homework on the internet and the television and could at least give a vague commentary on a few things. He had been warned not to mention any military action if he could help it and answered questions regarding that with a helpless shrug and a claim not to understand the politics behind the actions. He was more forthcoming on other issues, able to talk whether or not he thought budget cuts were a good or bad thing for the city and his opinion on the presidential candidates. He ducked questions about his home life with the deftness that Cody had suggested (he had also said it wasn't rude to declare the topic off-limits if she pushed, but he doubted that she would, or even if she would care) and the questions he chose were purely superficial. He was good and it made Cody feel a little jealous that he was only the practice until someone else got the full force of all this. He wasn't even sure that Maryse would ask questions or listen too hard to what Ted had to say to her but he wanted all bases covered; it was easy to forget that this was a dangerous woman and he wanted to make sure Ted couldn't come to any harm at all. 

Dinner over, Ted hesitated a little. “What would happen now?” he asked doubtfully.

“Small talk, an auction, maybe some dancing. Probably she won't talk too much during the auction. She might mingle with you on her arm, our intelligence shows that she doesn't leave her boys on their own while she's working the room. Probably you won't have to do very much though. Just smile and let her lead the conversation. That what's she's supposed to be paying for after all.”

“And then she'll want to leave.” 

“That's right. Don't make it obvious that you're watching her but keep your eyes on her at all times. And then when she decided it's time for you to leave, keep the act up right up until you're following her back.”

“What if she doesn't go back?”

“Take her home and say goodnight,” said Cody immediately. No way was Ted going through with everything if it turned out he'd charmed Maryse out of doing her mission. 

“What if she wants to uh, kiss?”

Cody scowled a second, then schooled his expression better. “Then you'll just have to kiss her.”

Ted nodded. “Cody?”

“What?”

“Have I ever kissed anyone before?”

And now he was really on the spot. “Of course you have Ted,” he said lightly, busying himself with picking up the plates and taking them to the sink now that the pseudo-date was over. 

“I don't know how.” Ted looked over at Cody a bit helplessly and Cody found that he couldn't turn his back and call reassurances over his shoulder the way he wanted to. Ted looked too much like he needed to talk. “I see it on the TV and they always look like they're gonna drool over each other or something. And I don't remember that I've ever done that before.”

“It'll come naturally Ted. If she does want to kiss you, just go with your instinct.” Cody just had to hope that when the time came, he wouldn't be going with his instinct, to kill the bitch with her lips on his Ted. 

“Cody...” Ted's voice sounded almost pleading. “I don't want to mess this up, what if it means Christian's gonna get hurt? Can't you show me?”

Cody gave up all pretence of cleaning up and turned to look at Ted, handsome as hell with his new haircut and looking incredibly nervous. “You want me to kiss you?” he asked, feeling that he must look almost terrified.

Ted looked down at the table. “Well, it might help. I don't know what I'm doing and if she guesses, then we're all screwed.”

Cody didn't think that Ted's inability to kiss would make her think he was there to stop her but there was a dark, secret part of his mind reminding him that this was the most perfect man he had ever met and this was going to be the one way, the only way, that he could ever steal a kiss from him without risking his job and Ted's integrity, everything they had worked for since they had been chosen for this project. No one would be able to pull him from being Ted's handler for this one little kiss, would they?

Maybe he should ask Ted not to say anything and then his secret would be safe, but that was another slippery slope – and no matter if Ted shouted it from the hills, he was only human and there was the man of his dreams, the one he couldn't have, asking Cody to kiss him. He'd be a damned fool or a stronger man to resist.

“Okay then,” he said, his voice sounding distant to his own ears and making him wonder if he sounded off to Ted. He considered the living room a moment then thought that might be a bad idea. He didn't want to get too comfortable because that way might lead to him pushing for more than Ted wanted to give him and they didn't need to have any misunderstandings, not this close to a vital mission. 

“Stand up then,” he said when Ted seemed to be waiting for orders. Ted did so and approached Cody looking wary and maybe a touch exhilarated. Cody didn't linger too long on the last sentiment, instead putting a hand on Ted's shoulder and urging him closer. He and Ted were of a similar height and he didn't have to do much more than lean forward to meet Ted's lips. 

For long moments the touch was feather-light, as if the both of them were too nervous to do anything more. Cody took in a sharp breath as Ted's hands rested on his hips and then suddenly the pressure was increased. Whether it was him who did that or Ted he was never sure and didn't care; Ted was kissing him and it felt incredible. His heart pounded madly in his chest and he didn't need the computers and the monitors that were a part of Ted now to tell him that the other man was having the same symptoms. And he was a man, not a unit, not an emotionless soldier, a man who felt wholly perfect in Cody's arms. 

Cody didn't realise that his arms had gone around Ted until he felt the short strands of Ted's new haircut against his fingers, not that he had much chance to mull on it because Ted trailed the tip of his tongue over Cody's lower lip and Cody instinctively parted his lips to grant Ted access, responding to the action without any more thought of the consequences or that he probably shouldn't be encouraging this, caring about nothing at all except for Ted pressed against him and kissing him as if it was the last time they would see each other. 

When they finally parted, Cody rested his forehead against Ted's for a moment, his breathing uneven, then remembered that he really shouldn't be encouraging any kind of intimacy between them. But he didn't want to break the contact between them either. Ted had been so emotionless about so many things, so unconcerned, that the passion the other man had shown had taken him rather by surprise. And then there was the knowledge that he should do all that he could to make sure that it never happened again, no matter how much he wanted it to... suddenly he felt rather like crying. 

“I think that we can safely say you've got the kissing down right,” he said rather hoarsely.

Ted seemed at least equally affected by the kiss, not moving away from Cody. “I don't think I can kiss her like that,” he confessed.

I should hope not thought Cody indignantly and then reality made further unwelcome intrusion. He wasn't supposed to be distracting Ted from his mission in this way and not just because it was bad for the project as a whole. If Ted was thinking of this when he was contemplating what it might be like to kiss Maryse, then it could put him off his game and a lapse in concentration could be deadly. 

Reluctantly he disentangled himself from Ted. “So, now you don't need to worry about that,” he said, more calmly than he felt. “You wanna watch some TV or something? Begin training again tomorrow?”

There was a flash of something in Ted's eyes that Cody had never seen there before – anger? Frustration? He couldn't be sure because Ted dropped his hands and looked away too fast for him to decide. “I might go to bed actually,” said Ted in that same rather blank voice that denoted the way the units tended to speak before they got to know a person very well. “I'm tired.”

It was far too early for Ted to really be tired but Cody didn't want to stop him either. “That's fine,” he said with a wide smile that felt fake. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask if he might join Ted in there but that would not only be inappropriate, he wasn't sure that he would be able to trust himself in such close proximity. He wasn't sure he could trust himself in the middle of the kitchen. He could still feel the phantom weight of Ted's lips against his and already he wanted it again.

~:~

So lost in his thoughts was he that Cody completely missed the fact that Ted hadn’t gone into his own room at all--- he was standing just outside of the kitchen door, watching Cody. The blonde’s own stomach was doing flip-flops and he could still taste the other in his mouth. Even under the chicken salad and their accompanying drinks Ted could taste something he had never tasted before. Something that had to be pure Cody. He was pretty sure that he had never tasted anything so good before, and was likely never to taste anything so good again. And that thought bothered him more than he had ever thought possible. He told himself that Cody didn’t feel the same since he had been so keen to pull away and as such he should just cut the moment and leave before it got even worse.

That turned out to be what he didn’t do in the end, because watching Cody place his own fingers over his lips, brushing them in a movement that was as sensual and innocent as it was sexual, as his other hand bunched in his own shirt around his abdomen, Ted found himself unable to resist. As though someone else was controlling his body and he was watching it from an outside perspective (and since that thought wasn’t entirely impossible he didn’t dwell on it as it made him uncomfortable) he saw himself cross back into the kitchen, Cody jumping guiltily upright and dropping his arms when he saw him there. The other opened his mouth, undoubtedly to ask Ted what he was doing, but Ted didn’t give him chance to speak. Impulsiveness hadn’t been his middle name, but it seemed to be now.

A squeak sounded into his mouth and momentarily Ted thought Cody was going to push him away, but then the man’s arms were around his neck again and Ted found himself being granted access to Cody’s luscious mouth once more. A moan sounded then and Ted had no idea if he had made the noise or Cody, though in a way he was hoping it was Cody because that was a sign he was doing something right. His own hands spanned around Cody’s waist again, feeling the soft, well-washed fabric of Cody’s slightly baggy-jeans underneath his hands. Without really thinking they moved up, spanning over his lower-back instead, a finger even daringly traversing over the waistband of Cody’s jeans to rest on the swell of his ass. Something inside of him was surging, demanding for even more of---

Whatever was happening right then. Ted wasn’t sure he could have put a name to it and didn’t really want to either. Somehow they ended up moving so that Cody was backed against the wall just to the side of the doorframe, Ted’s body encasing his as they braced against the wall for support. Eventually the need for air demanded that they pull apart, and though their mouths separated they remained right where they were. Cody looked… Ted didn’t think any word he knew would be adequate to describe it. His dark hair was a little messy, as though fingers had gone through it (and they probably had, Ted acknowledged absently, for his hands had seemed pretty confident they knew what to do) and his cheeks were flushed a bright red. The swollen effect of his plush lips was the cherry on top.

Did Cody look like that because of the kiss, or because Ted was the one kissing him? Not knowing how Cody really felt about him was so damned hard it was unbelievable, especially when even Ted, with the gaps in his memory and so forth, knew that there was something special in what was happening. He was pretty sure kissing the blonde assassin wouldn’t make him feel like this. Hell, going downstairs and kissing one of his fellow soldiers or one of their handlers wouldn’t make him feel like this. “Cody…” even though he was the one to raggedly utter Cody’s name he had no idea what he wanted to say to him. Actually, reflecting on it, speaking would probably ruin their moment entirely. And he didn’t think he could bear the other brushing him off again the way he had moments before.

“T-Ted?” Cody all but panted and Ted felt a shiver course through him from head to toe. He wanted to hear that voice again, only stronger, more impassioned. And he wanted to be the only one who got to hear that voice. Swallowing thickly at the direction of his thoughts, along with the ferocity of them, Ted then ducked his head again. Later, later he would think about lines he had crossed and what a mess he was probably making, but right then he didn’t want to think about anything except the way Cody’s nails were gently scratching at his scalp and the way Cody’s tongue was drawing interesting patterns against his own in a way that was making his stomach feel as though someone had unleashed a whole flock of butterflies inside of it. It was the most incredible thing he’d ever felt.


	9. Chapter Eight: The Truth, Not Hypthesies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam voices some concerns to Alberto but doesn't get the response he'd hoped for, and feelings are changing in more than one quarter between handler and charge.

“You’re really bad at cards y’know?” Randy drawled in amusement as he followed John into their flat about half an hour after the game had ended. In the shocker of all shocks Randy had been the one to clean house when he had joined the game, and he had needed to be walked through it exactly the same as Justin had. Evan had politely refused to join in the game although he had provided an avid and amusing vocal commentary, as though they were on one of those poker-shows they showed on TV. “I am not bad,” John protested, pouting across at Randy, “You just never happened to mention that you were secretly a professional card player.” Randy looked amused and then momentarily perplexed, causing John to mentally kick himself; he’d set Randy’s mind off on another tangent.

“I don’t think I was…” but he had the sense that he did like to play cards even when there wasn’t any sort of wager or prize involved. “But it seems I have a knack for it. Think Del Rio will let me drop the soldiering and go play professional instead?” Randy joked as he sat down and started to unlace his boots, pulling the items off and then setting them aside. Seeing Randy’s boots beside John’s trainers probably caused their few visitors untold amounts of amusement, though to be fair Wade and Justin had the same sort of contrasting footwear. Amusingly enough it was Chris and Evan who wore similar shoes, smart leather ones or lighter boots and suchlike. Occasionally Evan could be spotted in converse but it depended what mood he was in. “Somehow I doubt you’d get his blessing for that.”

“Shame,” Randy said glibly, seeming to move on from the moment even as he said it whereas John found himself hesitating a moment. Did Randy not want to be a soldier anymore? Suddenly a sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, guilt increasing. Certainly the fact he had been in active service at the time of his accident would indicate that Randy had been happy in his lifestyle but what did John know? For all he knew Randy could have just been doing it because he had been doing it for years and it was a job he was used to and enjoyed maybe only basically. “You sick of the mission before you’ve even really done one?” John joked, moving across to the fridge and busying himself with looking for something to drink to try and hide his expression from Randy in case it gave him away.

“Nah,” Randy shrugged, “Can’t say I think I’d be good at a more settled lifestyle,” he admitted. He didn’t even remember what that kind of life was like, though he hadn’t experienced it since he had been back in high-school. “Yeah, you get bored easily,” John agreed as he located a beer, grabbed a second for Randy since one wouldn’t do them any harm, before he then straightened up and turned around… to come face-to-face with Randy. “Whoa!” John almost fell backwards into the fridge in surprise and momentarily Randy looked perplexed, “Sorry… Did I scare you?” he sounded a little upset at the thought and John was hasty to reassure him that it was only because he hadn’t heard Randy coming up behind him. Although it seemed to appease Randy a little it didn’t quite do all that much.

“Want one?” John offered the bottle and Randy looked down at it a moment before accepting it and twisting the cap off all in less than thirty-seconds. Even John needed a little longer than that to pop the top off. “Thanks,” Randy murmured before then tilting his head and saying, “Do you think Evan’s cute?” That simple question almost had John falling over again--- but this time his surprised shock was outweighed by furious, blind-sided jealousy. Evan? Randy liked Evan? “I… I don’t know,” John flustered, having no idea what the protocol was for answering such a question and why Randy would even ask it in the first place. Randy’s expression remained mostly unchanged but there was the slightest pouting of his lips that wasn’t there naturally, “Do you think he’s more attractive than me?”

Well fuck a duck… Randy sure knew how to put a guy on the spot didn’t he? Using the excuse of having a drink to delay having to answer, John hoped that his blush didn’t show. Little did he knew that Randy was drinking in every reaction that John gave, focusing specifically on the bobbing of his Adam’s-apple and the way his broad shoulders seemed to be shifting, twitching, quite often. Clearing his throat softly John then focused on picking the label off of his beer-bottle, wondering how much damage an honest answer would do. Sadly he figured it was maybe as much, if not more than a lie would cause. “I don’t think Evan is more attractive than you,” he said honestly, and then muttered to himself, “I don’t think anyone is.” They had been spoken quietly but Randy heard every single word. 

~::~

“This isn’t fair! Are you cheating?” Chris pretended to eyeball Evan, unable to help but laugh when Evan looked scandalised at the very thought; poor thing didn’t have a dishonest bone in his entire body Chris was sure, though he was even more sure that was true when it came to him. “I am not cheating!” Evan protested lightly, sticking his tongue out at Chris and pretending to sniff haughtily, “Just because you can’t beat me the way you could everyone else.” Since Evan hadn’t played with everyone else Chris suggested that they played alone in their apartment. Neither was tired and so didn’t see the need just to rush off to bed right then just for the sake of going. Evan had been very quick at picking up the game, though at first Chris had been cleaning the floor with his young partner.

It seemed as though Evan had just been playing possum with him though because all of a sudden he seemed to be getting all of the winning hands, making moves that seemed ridiculous to Chris’ experienced eye but that ended up paying out big for the other. “Maybe I should take you to Vegas…” Chris mumbled, and then stilled as the thought of what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas gave itself a whole new meaning in his subconscious. “Vegas?” Evan repeated and then paused, “Oh, Las Vegas, in Nevada, right?” Chris nodded in the affirmative, expecting Evan might have been gearing up to say something more on the matter… but instead he said nothing and merely adjusted the position of a few of his cards. Puzzled, Chris cocked his head; Evan had been surprisingly quiet that evening.

Not that he was trying to say Evan was an incessantly annoying chatterbox, but he was bright and bubbly and as curious as a puppy which meant he was usually asking a thousand and one questions about whatever topic had caught his eye at the time. “Are you OK Ev?” the Canadian asked concernedly, wondering if he was coming down with something, or whether he should go get Adam… He didn’t like sicking the doctor on his protégé but it was difficult to fault that maybe on occasion the psychiatrist was the best person to have him talk to. Especially if Evan wouldn’t be more forthcoming with him. “Huh?” Evan glanced up and then smiled, “I’m fine. Why?” he tilted his head, “Are you OK Chris?” the older man was looking as though he was experiencing a stomach ache.

“I’m fine,” Chris echoed and for a moment they merely looked at one another. A small, not quite awkward but not wholly comfortable laugh was shared between them before Chris then sighed and reclined back into his chair somewhat. “Want to get a snack and watch a film?” he asked Evan. The man perked immediately and Chris grinned secretively; for all Evan was careful with his diet and quite serious he liked dorky things on occasion, and he had a little penchance for junk the same way that Cody did. As of yet though Chris hadn’t had to physically haul Evan away from McDonald’s. “What snacks were you thinking?” Evan asked and Chris thought about it a moment before standing up. A quick root in the cupboard produced some wafers, marshmallows and hot chocolate, “Yay, nay?”

“Yay,” Evan agreed immediately before his smile then faltered a little, “But we don’t have an open flame for smores,” he said. Chris winked, “Au contraire.” The fireplace in the living-room wasn’t just for decoration as he had discovered the other day. Confused and curious Evan followed Chris into their living-room, helping more most of the settee cushions to the floor to make something of a make-shift nest. He was then sent back into the kitchen to make their hot chocolate as Chris ‘did his thing’ as he called it. When Evan returned with two large mugs filled with delicious hot chocolate with a touch of cinnamon he was startled to find that Chris had already made two piping-hot smores on the fire for them. “We’re gonna be boiling pretty fast,” Evan pointed out in amusement as he sat beside Chris.

For an hour or so they snacked, found a silly move or two to watch, and then they put the fire out. Or, technically, Chris put the fire out because at some point (he had no idea when) Evan had fallen asleep. Seeing his angelic face as he slept Chris found it hard to believe Evan had been a trained and efficient soldier; he looked as though he’d be more at home in some university library or something. Or a job that involved children; Evan was pretty good with children from what Chris could tell. The blonde found himself trapped in a debate of taking Evan through to bed or leaving him. In the end he tucked a blanket over Evan and settled beside him. He’d just wait a little bit he told himself, just a little… however he ended up falling asleep beside Evan, who turned into him sometime in the night. 

~::~

Wade groaned softly as he tossed and turned; it was sweltering hot that evening, and even the top-class AC seemed to be doing nothing at all. The window was open and Wade had stripped down right to his boxers, covers kicked off. Despite what people thought they had hot days back in England, although Wade couldn’t recall a single day in his lifetime wherein he had experienced a night as hot as this. Groaning softly Wade attempted to fall into a fitful sleep, ending up on his back with an arm thrown over his eyes. He had no idea how long it took for him to actually fall asleep, although when he did he had the strangest, most erotic dream he had ever experienced. It was one of those dreams wherein you found yourself struggling to comprehend that it really hadn’t happened in real life.

Sometime when he had been sleeping another presence had joined him in his bed, causing the mattress to dip just slightly. A gentle hand brushed down his back, fingers tracing the indentation of his spine and then back up to the base of his neck. Those same fingers caressed his arm, tracing the shape of his tattoo. In the back of his awareness Wade acknowledged that the person who was touching him had to be someone he knew, because they were tracing the outline of his tattoo was an unusual amount of familiarity--- as though they looked at it a lot. The fingers moved again, this time brushing over his cheeks. Wade’s brow furrowed; something in that touch sparked some recognition in him, although for the life of him he couldn’t quite put his finger on the answer he was searching for.

The second Wade considered bringing himself back to consciousness his body rebelled; the touch would go if he awoke, his mind reminded, because it was a dream and all. Accepting that thought Wade settled back, content to let the touch continue even though his mind wouldn’t settle over the fact that he was sure he knew the person touching him and yet couldn’t pinpoint their name or picture their face in his mind. A warm, tingling breath was blown over his lips and Wade parted them just slightly on reflex, hearing a soft, delighted chuckle sounding. “Wade…” the barely there sound of his name seemed to echo in his ears and Wade shivered. Who was that? Whose voice was that? Afraid to bring himself out of his dream Wade lifted a hand, not daring to open his eyes as he did.

Before he could make contact with his mystery bed-partner they caught his hand and pinned it down gently but firmly, Wade feeling a little measure of amusement interspersed with arousal as he allowed his other one to be pinned to. Normally he would never have allowed himself to be put in such a position even fleetingly, but there was something about the man (oh yes, he knew full well it was a man) his mind had created whose face he couldn’t see that he trusted. He was safe with this person, they wouldn’t cause him harm. When the soft, determined mouth met his own Wade didn’t even hesitate to allow them access, moaning lowly when a smaller but no less strong body straddled him. Without meaning to Wade bucked his hips up as much as he was able, causing his partner to moan.

Emboldened by the reaction, and intoxicated by the sensation of heat alongside the bizarrely real sensation of a rock-solid groin against his own, Wade bucked again. They continued like that for some time, kissing and bucking, the passion mounting with each frantic movement of their bodies. Wade was close, so close, and from the way his partner was shuddering and all but whimpering his name he wasn’t far off either. The orgasm he experienced might have been brought out without any skin-on-skin access of the sexual variety, but it was one of the most mind-blowing things Wade had experienced. As his sated, relaxed body slipped back into unconsciousness Wade mumbled, “Justin—“completely unaware that his dream partner tensed, terrified that for a moment Wade had actually awoken.

When Wade awoke the following morning he was beyond confused, wondering for a moment why he was alone… And he was always alone when he went to bed, and had been for quite a while now. Sitting up (his slightly curly hair in complete disarray thanks to his tossing, turning and sweating (the humidity probably not helping either) Wade pushed a hand through his hair and looked around groggily. He was in his room, covers on the floor where he’d kicked them off and his alarm-clock blearing out that it was seven in the morning. It was a completely normal scene… save for the fact that there was a suspicious wet patch on the outside of his boxers and stickiness inside. For a moment Wade couldn’t believe his eyes; he knew he hadn’t had sex in a while, but a wet dream?

Embarrassed by the adolescent function (and completely disregarding the fact that it was perfectly natural and not just for adolescents) Wade stripped out of the soiled boxers, shoved them into his hamper and then shrugged into a dressing-gown. Padding out of his room he made his way to the bathroom, pausing mid-way from trying the door when he heard the faint sound of rushing water coming from within. Mildly surprised by the fact that Justin was showering so early Wade shrugged it off and headed for the kitchen instead. Maybe a cup of tea would sort him out. He was working too hard, that had to be the only reason that he was acting so strangely. He pretended not to notice the thought in his mind that brought up Justin’s smiling face when he speculated on possible causes.

~:~

“Thanks for meeting me so early.” Adam sat in the seat opposite Alberto in the very expensive restaurant that opened early enough for rich businessmen to breakfast at. There was no sign of Christian but there were a couple of other men alone sipping discretely at coffee who Adam suspected had to be bodyguards. A waitress was by his side immediately and he ordered toast and coffee, not in the mood for much more. “Have you reconsidered telling Christian that he might be a target?”

“I've told him enough,” said Alberto dismissively. “I have said, there may be an attempt on one or both of us and he is to be on his toes.”

“You don't want to reconsider telling him more? He'll probably guess at the fundraiser when he sees Ted on the arm of some bimbo.”

“He'll think it's security.” Alberto raised his head slightly, eyes fixed on Adam. “I don't want him to know more about this than he has to. I do not wish him to know that he may be in danger thanks to me.”

“He's known all along that your position might make you a target for bad things,” said Adam rather gently. “And I know Christian and he won't like being kept in the dark--”

“I do not need to be psychoanalysed,” said Alberto decisively. “This part of the conversation is done now. Why is it that you wanted to meet with me? It can't be because of Christian.”

“No, not entirely.” Adam paused for a few moments as his coffee and toast arrived, thanking the waitress who brought it and then returning to the conversation at hand. “It's to discuss the units. And their handlers.”

Alberto raised an eyebrow. “Is there a problem?”

“I don't know.” Adam spread jam on his toast without noticing what kind he was even adding, it was more something to do with his hands. “We wanted them to be close, the idea was that the handlers gave orders and the units wouldn't dream of disobeying them.”

“And have they?”

“No, there's been no disobedience as yet. It's just that – well, Cody behaved very strangely when we gave the assignments. He was angry at the plan we came up with. Not so much that Ted was the one involved but that it involved him masquerading as a gigolo. It was a stronger reaction than I would have thought, one that makes me think that they're too close.”

Alberto raised an eyebrow. “But he has agreed to go along with it.”

“Yes, he has. He's training Ted for whatever may come. I always knew that he would go along with it but I hadn't foreseen how much he'd dislike the way it's done. It's not exactly like fear for his unit. It's more like jealousy.”

“You think that Cody has developed romantic feelings for his unit,” said Alberto flatly. He didn't see that it was possible, as human as they looked and as good looking as they were, the units were still not exactly human, their reactions weren't usually those of normal people and to all intents and purposes they were dead, merchandise. One might as well fall in love with a gun or a grenade because the units were as much weapon as any of those. And yet he supposed he could see the possibility.

“If I thought it was just Cody then I would be tempted to simply wheedle it out of him in therapy and deal with it that way,” replied Adam. “I've told you how nervous the units are to let their handlers out of their sight and we already planned that they would be protective. I think that we may have made them too close to one another. Their lives are tangled up with one another, it's no surprise really that they would look to one another for any sexual feelings.”

“And the units?”

“We thought all along that this might happen with them but decided it an acceptable risk since the units would never act to hurt their handlers in any way at all and that includes hurting their feelings. It would be just one more thing that made the units loyal, if those feelings did occur. We didn't foresee that the handlers might reciprocate.”

“You think this may be a problem with more than the one handler?”

“I think it exists to a greater or lesser extent with all of them.” Adam tapped his finders against his coffee cup, rather sad that he didn't have much appetite for his toast, the preserves were simply excellent. “Cody showed the most signs but they're smart men and they don't want to give too much away. I've called them in to see me individually and they're all hiding something from me. John says he empathises with Randy because they shared the experience of being injured, Wade tries to hide everything with medical jargon and by recognising at least a few of the techniques and Chris just fobs me off, and he's better at it than any of the others are. But they're closer than we expected and I'm sure that the closeness and that protectiveness works both ways.”

Alberto nodded thoughtfully. “I'm not entirely sure how this might be a problem.”

Adam blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Think about it. If these handlers have an investment in their units, then it's more likely that they will retrieve them safely and take their missions far more seriously. They will give more to the project than if it was simply a job.”

“Or perhaps they'll get bored, move on and find that living with an ex who'd die for you is more difficult than they might have thought.” Adam raised his eyebrows meaningfully. “Or they'll think that a botched mission is a perfect way of ridding themselves of that little problem.”

“No, because we vetted these men carefully. Here's what I think.” Alberto reached for his own coffee. “They'll keep their distance. They'll be professional. And if any harm comes to the units, it will be the end of them in this corporation.”

“But I think that--”

“I think that if something does go wrong with these handlers and units, then we will have to rethink our methods but I have already considered it.” Alberto smirked. “You are able to use hypnotism and other methods of mind control, yes?”

“It's against the rules of psychiatry to do something like that to the detriment of the patient--”

“Your patients are dead. And it would not be to their detriment as it can only help them.”

“It's not gonna be that simple.” Adam frowned, frustrated. “The thing is, their memory loss isn't caused by psychiatric intervention. I don't know that it'll affect things should I choose to go that route.”

“Then they will have to live with their feelings,” snapped Alberto. “They're a commodity doctor, they will do as we wish them to and if their relationship with the handlers is a problem, then we shall deal with it. However, for the moment they are doing as they are required, they are behaving and responding well to conditioning. We do not need to invite problems upon ourselves. As long as they behave as we require, then I do not care for their emotions. I have far more pressing things to concern myself with and I do not need to hear of this unless there is some kind of issue. Please do not bother me with this again unless they are creating a problem that might affect the future of the project. If you have fears, it is your job to handle them.”

Adam nodded quickly, rather taken aback by the irritation. “Okay then.”

“And should the handlers wish to become closer with the units, then it is of no concern unless it becomes a cause for concern.” Alberto's smirk faded into an almost wistful smile. “The strangest people find love in the strangest places.”

Adam had chosen that moment to take a mouthful of cooling toast and almost choked on it. For all he showed off Christian like another of his prizes, Adam had not expected Alberto to practically admit to being in love with the man and he certainly hadn't expected empathy when it was Alberto who continued to deny the units humanity. 

It didn't last; a moment later Alberto had his usual superior expression. “I'll buy this one,” he said casually, hailing the waitress. “And I mean it. Don't bother me with your fears, deal with them. I care about results, not hypotheticals.”

Adam nodded, agreeing to the order. But he was not left feeling especially comforted.

~:~

Ted hadn't wanted to the night to end. He had no idea how long he and Cody had spent in the kitchen kissing, all he had known at the time was that he didn't want it to stop. Not just because of how good it felt to have Cody's mouth on his and the man's body close, but because he knew that sooner or later they would have to talk about it and he didn't want to talk. He just wanted to feel.   
It couldn't last all night though and in the end he and Cody ended up in the living room, wrapped in one another's arms and continuing to kiss. At one point it had looked like Cody was about to try to say something and Ted had cut him off in such a way that Cody had been powerless to resist. Eventually they had both fallen asleep, sometime in the early hours, still on the couch, still wrapped around one another. When Ted woke up Cody was still sleeping and he lay for a while watching him sleep, slightly afraid. He didn't know just when what he had with Cody had gone from conditioning to genuine need, but it didn't feel like something that had been forced upon him. It was Cody himself and although he realised that a part of his job was to keep Cody safe in spite of his own welfare, he didn't think he would have needed that to do so. He felt so much for Cody that it worried him. There were so many people around them that referred to him as a 'unit' or as 'merchandise' and while he understood that, he thought that hearing that Cody thought of him in the same way would kill a greater part of him than was already labelled deceased. 

He wanted to touch Cody's face to reassure himself that yes, the man was really there and it had all happened, but he was afraid of waking him up, of Cody telling him that it had all been a mistake. And it hadn't been Cody to instigate anything, Ted had done all of that himself. 

And yet, Cody hadn't seemed to mind. Quite the opposite, Cody had responded to him. Ted didn't think he could ever forget how it had felt to have Cody's lips burning against his, no matter how much more of his life was a blank to him. Even if it never happened again, he would still have that. 

Cody stirred and Ted hesitated, wondering if he should pretend he was still sleeping, but then Cody opened his eyes and Ted forgot all about faking anything. He was pretty sure that Cody would have realised anyway. Cody looked somewhat sleepy, a whole lot more wakeful when he saw Ted, but still tired enough that Ted just wanted to smile. “Morning,” he said quietly, not quite knowing what else he could say.

“Morning,” said Cody, sounding bleary but somewhat wary at the same time. That extra note broke Ted's heart a little. 

“We don't have to go training today.” Ted heard the slight note of pleading in his voice and tried to moderate it. “We could stay right here for a while longer.”

Cody looked like he might have been about to say something and then abruptly changed his mind. “Sounds good,” he said instead, shifting his body slightly so that his head nestled in Ted's chest. It meant that he missed the grin that suddenly crossed Ted's face as he relaxed, hand moving over Cody's back slowly. The morning couldn't last forever either but Ted could put of the reasons why not as long as possible. As long as they didn't discuss it and Cody was leaning into him the way he was, it meant that he could pretend that there was no reason why he and Cody couldn't be together.

~:~

Evan had a weird moment of deja vu upon waking. For a moment he thought himself much younger, maybe ten or twelve, having stayed awake for some late-night film or sports event on the television and wrapped in the blankets that he had dragged down from his bed the night before to make himself comfortable, the remnants of his secretive snacks littered around him...

The impression faded into a jumble and was forgotten, like any other memory of his life prior to the bomb. Instead he blinked and realised that he might be sleeping on the floor in the blankets on his bed but he wasn't alone; Chris was right there with him. The blonde was fast asleep and at some point, Evan had rolled over and was probably a lot closer to Chris than the other man would appreciate had he been awake, or so Evan thought. Chris seemed completely at ease and although he was more than ten years older than Evan, he didn't seem that much in his sleep. Actually, Evan didn't even notice it when he was awake. There was something about Chris that was eternally young. 

Not to mention eternally attractive. Wearing nothing but a wifebeater and his boxers, Chris showed more muscle tone than many men half his age and Evan took in the sight, rather thrilled that he was able to do so without Chris realising. Chris had seen him sleep before, he knew that, not just at the hospital but when he snuck into Evan's room to make sure he was okay and thought that Evan didn't know about it. Evan felt a wave of affection for the man and then grinned slightly when he realised Chris wasn't waking up any time soon. The deep, heavy breaths that weren't quite snores gave that much away. 

As carefully as he could, Evan eased from beneath the blankets that Chris must have covered him with the night before and headed for the kitchen, deciding there was no reason he couldn't treat them both to breakfast in bed, they had the time as long as he didn't go in for anything too fancy. He chopped some fruit, made coffee and juice and toasted some bagels, taking the whole lot in on a tray and putting it on the floor by Chris's head before taking his place under the blankets once again and trying not to chuckle at Chris, who hadn't so much as stirred. He stroked a stray piece of hair from Chris's face. “Hey, wake up! I made food!”

“Muh?” Chris opened a single eye, looking a little puzzled when he saw Evan and realised he was on the floor. 

“Muh to you too.” Evan patted Chris on the cheek twice and then rolled onto his stomach to grab his juice. “Wake up and eat, before I take your share too.” 

“Like hell you will.” Chris scrubbed at his eyes, the action making Evan think of a boy rather than a man, then sat up and looked at Evan, expression unreadable until he laid eyes on the food. “Hey, this is great. You'll make me a great wife.”

“Ha, you wish.” Evan reached for a bagel, looking up to give Chris a wink. “I'm the man of this house. I'm the big, bad soldier and you're the little woman who looks after me. This is more like mother’s day or your birthday or something. It's your job again tomorrow.”

“Oh, you wish you were the man of the house,” said Chris haughtily, grabbing for some fruit. “You just wish.”

“If you really were the man of the house, you'd have a better comeback than that.” Evan grinned widely, taking a sip of coffee and making Chris wonder how he could eat while lying on his stomach. “You want the shower first, sweetheart? Or can I get in real quick before you do all that womanly primping?”

Before he could stop himself, Chris reached out and swatted Evan on the ass. “And you'll get more than that if you keep it up, baby,” he said in his most teasing voice, although he was inwardly panicking a little over the over-friendly action. What the hell had come over him?

Evan was a little wide-eyed, his heart beating too fast, but he smirked back as if completely unphased. “A spanking? Kinky. I would have married you sooner if I'd known. I still want the shower first.”

“It's all yours.” Chris smirked, thanking any passing deity that he hadn't caused Evan to freak out on him and thanking them once again when he realised he'd not said I'm all yours, which was always a possibility with what he had been thinking. “Me and the food are going to spend some quality time. You're a great little cook.”

“Huh.” Evan finished his bagel, juice and coffee and then scrambled out of the makeshift bed and toward the door to the bathroom. Chris watched him go appreciatively, feeling rather more safe now that Evan wasn't looking at him and he was able to enjoy the view. “Hey Ev,” he called after the younger man. “Don't use all the hot water while you're doing your beauty regime!”

Evan said nothing but as he reached the door, grabbed the waist of his boxers and dropped them half-way down, waving his bare ass at Chris and laughing as he dragged them back up and vanished into the bathroom, leaving Chris open-mouthed with his bagel forgotten and loose in his hand. 

~:~

Justin exited the shower while Wade was stood in the kitchen, sipping a cup of tea. “Morning,” he said cheerily, causing Wade to jump slightly and turn. He looked a little guilty as he tried not to notice that Justin was dressed in nothing but a towel around his waist and a few stray drops of water, but he didn't do a great job and Justin's expression became slightly concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine.” Wade gave a small smile. “I don't think I'll ever get used to this heat. It's summer, it's supposed to be raining.”

“Surely that's just a myth, that it always rains in England?”

“It used to be but in recent years it just rains and rains, I'm thinking of doing some kind of research on it in a few years when I'm all done with biology...” Wade decided he was probably rambling and stopped himself. 

Justin tilted his head to the side a little, still not looking convinced. “Well, I'm all done in the shower if you were hoping to use it.”

“Yeah, I think I need to.” And that comment immediately reminded Wade of the dream he'd had the night before. “Because it's so damned hot,” he added redundantly, putting his cup down and heading for the bathroom.

Justin watched him go, his mild smile replaced by a frown as soon as Wade was out of sight. He didn't understand. Wade hadn't even mentioned the kiss they had shared two nights ago. It had been as if it hadn't even happened and it confused Justin no end. Wade had been more than happy at the time and yet he didn't seem able to even mention it. And then last night...

Well, Wade had been mostly asleep, but Justin had hoped that it might change everything, persuade Wade that he needed to be more open with him. Apparently not. Wade seemed quite willing to bury everything rather than giving Justin a straight answer. He didn't know if Wade was as confused as he was or trying to shove him away or what. 

He needed to do something more. It would be better if Wade were the one to make the first move but he was getting frustrated with waiting for him to do anything. The trouble was that he was struggling to do anything that might cause Wade trouble. It was against all that he knew and had learned. And yet Wade wasn't doing anything even though Justin was sure that Wade felt something more for him than the protectiveness that was expected. 

He was going to get his man, he was sure of it. He just wasn't sure how quite yet. In the meantime, there was no reason not to carry on as he had been doing. Something had to work and he was going to find what it was. 

~:~

Chris’ mind was completely shot, that was all there was to it. Oh, he hadn’t acted like it (he didn’t think he had anyway) back when Evan had returned into the living-room, towel-clad and still a little damp, to tell him he could use the shower now. Abandoning the food he hadn’t had the appetite to finish (he’d had an appetite lingering, just not for food) he took the plates into the kitchen and then ducked into the bathroom. The cold shower that followed was painful to subject himself to but necessary. A little shrinkage was worth the risk if it meant that he wasn’t going to give himself away to Evan. If he found out what seeing that brief glimpse of his taunt, round--- focus Chris! --- ass had done to him he was likely to think that Chris was some completely perverted weirdo to start avoiding.

“You look like shit,” he told Wade by way of greeting, although there was a small note of concern in his voice. Wade sighed and dropped into the seat opposite Chris, John down on the floor with Alex and the units to help demonstrate something Alex wanted to teach them that day. Unlike when Alex had gotten hold of Cody, Randy hadn’t attacked because he’d had hold of John… but the tenseness of his body belied the fact that he didn’t want to attack the man for what he was doing. “Fuck you an all,” Wade muttered back, setting a take-away style cup down before him. Chris almost fell out of his seat when he recognised the slightly bitter scent of the liquid coming from within, “You detest coffee; why are you drinking it?” there was definitely something wrong with their resident brain-fund.

“I didn’t sleep well last night,” Wade said somewhat defensively and Chris supposed he could sympathise; he’d slept great but that was only because he had been enjoying the guilty mini-pleasure of having Evan all curled up to him. Chris’ hand tightened into a fist atop his thigh underneath the little table they were seated at, observing the practice from a slightly raised platform that served as an impromptu café area. That section of the gym had been closed off for refurbishment up until the day before so they were making use of the facilities again, although it was a bit odd to be the only ones there; they always got the gym to themselves when Alex was training their boys. “You’re not looking too hot either, Chris,” Wade muttered, grimacing as he took a tentative sip of his coffee.

It amused Chris that Wade looked as though someone had kicked him in the balls at the flavour whereas most people glugged it down as though it was some kind of elixir of life. “You think I’m hot?” he pretended to flutter his lashes and Wade cracked something of a smile for the first time before his expression sobered a little again. “You feeling alright? Getting enough iron?” the Canadian rolled his eyes with fond exasperation, “Yes, thanks, mother, I’m doing fine. I just slept late last night,” he shrugged, eyes drifting down to where Evan was currently displaying some of his impressive, spine-tingling flexibility at Alex’s apparent behest. When the man went easily into some splits Chris winced in tandem with the others even as some most inappropriate images flooded his mind in relation to it.

“I think it’s all this added extra pressure,” Wade said, aware that he was mostly talking aloud and making excuses to himself and yet not really caring at the same time, “I mean, Justin doesn’t seemed concerned about what’s happening in less than six days and yet…” And yet Wade was concerned and chances were Justin wouldn’t even need to do anything. Chris hummed absently in agreement thinking that Evan and Randy seemed mostly at ease… except in their boys there was an apparent energy that day, as though they had made decisions and where ready to go through with them. Whatever those decisions might be, which neither of the two handlers spectating could have speculated on for the life of them. “If he’s not concerned that’s good. Just don’t let him start getting complacent, right Wade?”

Wade gave Chris a look that asked if he thought he was an idiot, and then a sudden thumping sound of a body hitting the mat made them both glance over curiously--- and Chris felt his stomach tighten up when he saw Evan was atop John, straddling the bigger man’s waist and pinning his hands down. The way his workout pants had formed around his ass at the position made Chris’ throat suddenly feel tight and he wanted to shout down to make Evan get off immediately. However, he didn’t, because he knew that would draw attention to himself and since even Wade had noticed he seemed a bit out of it within seconds of them sitting together he was drawing attention enough to himself as it was. But just because Chris was the one who managed to hold back didn’t mean everyone else did.

“I think it’s OK to get off now,” Randy’s expression was pretty genial, as was the majority of his tone, but there was no mistaking the slight tensing of Randy’s jaw and narrowing of his eyes. Alex was talking to Justin about something and so missed the exchange, as did Wade and Chris since they were too far away to hear, but Evan obediently stood and spread his hands out, palm up and facing Randy, as though appeasing the other that he wasn’t about to encroach upon his territory. John remained on the floor a little dazed at the display, especially when the pair smiled at one another as though nothing had happened and Randy looked to John—and something in his gaze made something in John’s very core shiver in excited uncertainty. “Come on John, get up; it’s my turn to try now.” 

~::~

Should he apologise? Or would that just make it more awkward? Cody had no idea what he was supposed to do, especially when it seemed as though Ted was just waiting for him to say something about it. And Cody knew that he should if only to make it clear that it shouldn’t happen again… even the thought was enough to make his stomach sink. It wasn’t fair was it? Ted was the complete package; he was handsome, kind, intelligent and if those kisses had been anything to go by then he would also be fantastic in bed. Cody pressed a hand to his temple and mentally scolded himself; he wasn’t helping his own conviction by thinking of things like that, although admittedly it was hard not to. Last night… Last night had been the most incredible experience he had ever had romantically.

Glancing up from the letter he was composing to his parents (they had email, but being the old-fashioned sort they were they liked it best when he wrote to them the ‘good old-fashioned way’) Cody was mildly surprised to see that Ted was currently doing press-ups as he looked over the maps they had been provided with that morning that consisted of the layout of the hotel wherein the benefit would be taking place. Since they needed that one anyway, and it was the most likely one Maryse would book a room in given her MO, their intelligence hadn’t deemed it necessary to provide anything more than that. Still… given how complicated that diagram looked Cody supposed that was a plus.

It was impressive and just a touch daunting to see Ted rhythmically completing press-up after press-up without any seeming strain upon himself at all--- although the slight frown playing around his lips looked out of place for a straightforward expression of concentration. Signing off the letter with a flourish Cody addressed it, sealed it, and then placed a stamp on it. His parents couldn’t have his personal address in the apartments, but they had the one of their main office and they were then delivered to the apartments by their in-house postal service. Exhaling an almost silent breath he then turned to look at Ted once more; he supposed the longer they avoided this the harder it would be. And he didn’t want to upset Ted, not even a little bit, especially with such a big day up and coming.

“Teddy?” he inquired and Cody yelped when Ted lost his rhythm and fell flat onto his chest. Realistically though Cody knew that Ted wouldn’t be hurt from such an incident but he was on his knees beside the other in an instant anyway. “Sorry! Sorry! I didn’t mean to—“Cody cut off suddenly when Ted pushed himself upright, sitting back on his knees too and suddenly being much closer to Cody’s face than Cody’s brain and sudden surge of previously dormant hormones could cope with. “Uh—“Cody gaped slightly, probably looking like an unattractive imitator of a guppy-fish, but he couldn’t help himself. When Ted merely continued to look back at him Cody found himself frozen. Why did he have to be so gorgeous damn him? And his eyes; Cody could easily get lost in them.

“Is something wrong Cody?” Ted asked quietly, his eyes locked on Cody’s, watching as hundreds of emotions seemed to flicker in the dark hues before they settled on one that both flattered and confused Ted in equal measure: it was that same look that Cody had had in his eyes the night before when they had been kissing. Did that at least mean that Cody wanted to kiss him again? Ted didn’t know why, because kissing Cody was something he most definitely wanted to do again, but the thought that Cody might only want kisses from him bothered Ted in a strange way. It had been a recurring thought he’d been having recently but now he was ready to acknowledge it in himself: he wanted more. He wanted more than kisses and cuddles, although he still wanted them too of course.

“Uh… No. Which is the problem,” Cody forced himself to back up a little much to Ted’s consternation. Although, hadn’t that internet site he’d seen Justin having a sneaky look on say that when the person needed distance from you to concentrate that that was a good sign that they felt for you? “Why?” Ted asked, a slightly petulant and hurt timbre making itself known in his tone. Cody felt his chest squeezing again the same way it had when Ted had looked upset about Cody apparently not liking his appearance. “I—I’m not supposed to kiss you,” Cody found himself babbling slightly. What could he say? He might be a grown-up now but this handsome guy had his brain like much in mere seconds. “Why?” Ted repeated, and Cody wondered if he was being deliberately obstinate towards him.

A flush started to grow up Cody’s cheeks, swallowing hard and licking his dry lips to wet them—and feeling his jeans tighten a little when Ted’s eyes immediately shot towards his mouth at the action. “It—I was just supposed to be helping you. If the others knew I’d kissed you like that because I wanted to and not because I was helping you I’d get into trouble—“and he’d just said far too much even to Ted, he realised miserably. Thank you mouth, please open wider so I can insert foot further. “I—“Cody started again but the feeling a Ted’s hand cupping the back of his neck had his voice dying out. Ted’s eyes were darker than Cody had ever seen them and the serious look on his face was so sexy it should have been illegal. “You weren’t the only one kissing… I kissed you too, I wanted to.”

~:~

Oh hell, hearing Ted admit that he wanted to kiss him was enough to make his heart beat faster and the closeness between the two of them as he admitted it meant that it took all of Cody's willpower not to lean in and give himself up to what Ted was suggesting to him. “We could get into real trouble,” Cody repeated quietly, almost hoarse. “If anyone were to find out then they might sat I can't be your handler anymore.”

Ted drew back a little, concern written on his face. “You wouldn't?”

“I don't know. There's a chance that it wouldn't be allowed.”

“But that's only if they knew.” Ted's expression remained serious but Cody thought he could see a little devilment in Ted's eyes. “We don't have to say anything. I can keep my mouth closed if you can – unless you're around of course.”

Cody's eyebrows shot up. 

“Dr Adam is always asking me about what's happening and all, but I don't have to tell him everything. I can hide things and I'm pretty sure that you can if I can. So all we have to do is make sure that what happens in here stays between the two of us and we don't give ourselves away once we're outside.”

“You think we should carry on as we were last night and lie about it?” Cody was surprised at the suggestion, he had rather assumed that Ted wasn't able to lie to those who were in charge – but on second thoughts, that made no sense. The only person Ted couldn't realistically lie to was Cody himself. 

“Not lie,” said Ted earnestly. “Just not mention it. That way, you and I still get to live here and we can be together, really together, just as soon as we're alone. And there's no reason anyone should find out and I promise, it won't mess with any of the missions.”

Ted was so serious about what he was saying that Cody wanted to smile but didn't. What Ted was offering – well, it wasn't exactly what he wanted, but it had been exactly what he'd wanted to hear since the night before, when he had known that he would never have more with Ted than he had right then. Except that perhaps there was the chance for more without the repercussions. 

“Ted....” Cody kept his eyes firmly on the tawny-haired man. “I'm not sure I can keep it to myself when you're with Maryse in a few days.”

Ted rolled his eyes. “I won't be sleeping with her. I won't even be kissing her unless I have to and it won't mean a thing. It's you Cody, I never felt this way about anyone before – not that I'd know I guess, but I'm pretty sure I'd know if this had happened before. That's just – the mission. And when the mission's over, I want to come back here and be able to celebrate getting back safe by being able to be with you.”

There was only so much that Cody could take of fighting against his better judgement, especially with Ted so close and so sincere, with Cody wanting the same thing too. He closed the gap between them, brushing his lips against Ted in a rather chaste kiss that left his cheeks burning regardless. How was it that Ted affected him so much? 

“I'll get you home safe,” he promised. 

“I know.” A smile tugged at Ted's lips. “And I won't tell a soul what happens between us. No one need ever know.”

Cody would have preferred to be able to tell everyone that he had found the perfect man and that he was as infatuated as Cody was, but announcing it would mean losing it. For the moment at least, what they had would have to be enough – although as he allowed Ted to draw him close and kiss him again, it didn't seem like a bad deal at all.


	10. Chapter Nine: How Didn't I See What You Were?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted and Maryse finally meet, and the fundraiser goes ahead.

John chose to jump in the shower after Alex's session with the boys, since he had been helping out and sparring with three modified men who wouldn't have been a pushover even if they hadn't been. He'd worked up a sweat and it seemed like the best idea in the world to have a quick wash before lunch.

It seemed a lot less of a good idea when he remembered that the units would be showering as well. 

He grabbed the shower that Ted probably usually took and vowed that this was going to be the quickest shower of his life. Someone had left some shower gel there and he grabbed it, keeping his back on everyone else in there, although in spite of that he was interested to hear what the units talked about when there was no one around – if they talked freely with him there. The topic was the training session and there was some good-natured banter between the three of them about being taken down or the take-downs they'd made. Randy in particular was coming in for some stick since both Evan and Justin had managed to sweep his feet from beneath him and have him flat on his back. Randy seemed to take it in good part. 

The warm water felt great against his heated skin and he might have gotten a little carried away letting it wash over him as he listened to the teasing, his mind a blessed blank for the first time in a while. He didn't snap back to the moment until he heard water switching off, Evan and Justin chuckling over something. 

“We're going!” Evan's voice sounded a little amused and John shot a look over his shoulder to see the two younger men hurry from the showers, wrapping towels around their waists as they went. As good looking as they were, that wasn't the main reason John didn't want to see them leave. There was one other shower apart from his own still running. 

Hurriedly he squirted shower gel into his palm and started cleaning up, knowing that he had let himself get distracted and how was that being as fast as he could? The wash took around ten seconds and it still proved to be too long; he heard the water in the other shower switched off and didn't need to turn to realise that Randy was right behind him. 

“Why didn't you have the scar covered up?” asked Randy, sounding like he was damned close behind. John dared a quick glance over his shoulder and found that Randy was indeed a lot closer than was advisable when sharing a shower. One more step and he would be pressed flush against John's back.

“Huh?” John's mind had gone blank. 

“You could have had it hidden. Like ours are.”

“Perhaps,” said John. “But this was before the breakthrough used on you and anyway, I didn't really want it to be completely gone. I wouldn't say that the reminder is always welcome but it's something that happened. I don't see the point in hiding it when it's not really affecting the way I look in any significant way.”

“No, it doesn't,” Randy fell silent but John didn't quite dare to move. Randy was still there and John had the feeling that if he tried to leave, he'd end up having to brush against Randy to do so – and it might not be a great idea for Randy to see what effect he had on his handler when he stood so close and so naked...

“I'm glad it's still there,” said Randy almost absently. “Otherwise you might never have told me about it.”

John shrugged, muscles rippling interestingly. “Probably not. It's not something I like to revisit if I can help it.”

He didn't see Randy reach out but he started slightly when he felt fingers against the scar. It brought home to him that they were both naked and alone and Randy was touching him more intimately than anyone else had in a long time. He was glad of the rushing water to explain the flush on his cheeks and hide his slightly laboured breathing. But he still didn't dare turn around, not that it deterred Randy from letting his fingers run over the scar, almost like a caress. 

“It won't happen again,” said Randy in a low voice. “I swear.”

John could actually sense Randy moving closer and then suddenly he felt the gulf between them and couldn't resist looking over his shoulder, suddenly a little bereft. Randy was walking away, no towel in evidence and John's eyes went to Randy's ass, looking over the narrow waist and the tattoo across Randy's back, skin glistening with water. John's mouth went dry – surely Randy had known what he was doing? But Randy didn't look around, merely grabbing his towel and heading off to the changing rooms. John reached out for the shower and turned the dial in one violent move, shivering for a couple of minutes under the cold spray before he felt safe enough to shut it off altogether. Even so, the towel didn't feel like nearly enough to hide exactly how he felt about Randy.

~:~

The feeling started when he joined the units in the changing room, but it lingered and increased throughout the day. John Felix Anthony Cena was sure he was missing something… very important.

Frowning as his mind suddenly focused back on the email he had been composing, John’s finger irritably stabbed down onto the delete key and the last sentence he had just written was wiped out. And thank god it had been too; a child who had just begun to grasp the fundamentals of writing could have done better than he had. Scrubbing a hand over his face the brunette sighed and then decided to just save his draft and go back to it later; his family were used to sporadic communications from him, and since they lived all over the country it wasn’t exactly a necessary thing that he rush to get back to them as time-differences and such meant it’d be different times when they got it anyway. Closing down the laptop John then closed the lid and leant back in the desk chair.

“You seem tense,” Randy’s low voice seemed to envelope John’s senses and the brunette jumped guiltily, straightening up in the chair. “Tense?” a nervous laugh that had John mentally cringing at the obviousness of it all made its way out of his mouth and John devoutly hoped that Randy’s acute knowledge when it came to him wouldn’t make itself known; the last thing he wanted to do was cause his protégé any upset thanks to his own perverted subconscious fluctuating his moods so noticeably. “Nah, just got a bit of a stiff--- sore neck from sitting at this desk,” John winced a little at his brain’s lame choice of words. Step one: open mouth. Step two: lift foot from floor and insert into mouth firmly. For a moment Randy didn’t say anything and John didn’t dare turn around to see if he’d left.

When strong hands went to his shoulders again John froze in place unsure what was happening and what he was supposed to do in response to the touch. Randy’s hands were sure and steady, the other man seeming completely at ease with touching John as he started to firmly rub and knead the broad muscles of his shoulders. For all John attempted to keep stoic and not react to the sensation it proved to be near enough impossible after a few minutes. Somehow Randy seemed to know exactly where to press and what pressure to use to make John feel like he could just melt underneath his hands. And men of John’s age and life experience did not melt. It was highly embarrassing but admittedly John was reaching such a stage of relaxation that he didn’t care altogether too much.

Unbeknownst to John though, as his shoulders started to ease and his head lolled back slightly once his eyes closed, Randy’s own eyes started to darken in triumph. He had been distracted from making an attempt on John earlier, because that damned scar always robbed him of every sense of emotion except for wanting to protect John and keep him safe. If Randy had his way no one would ever be able to hurt John again, by their own hand or by a weapon. And, if he might be so bold, if he had the chance he would also make sure that John was never hurt again emotionally either. Sure, he might not be able to remember much about the man he had been, but John hadn’t known that man either. Randy knew what he knew now… and he was pretty sure John liked the man he currently was.

The urge to push further was coiled deep in Randy’s gut like a snake, preparing to strike the second his prey gave him an opening, but looking at John’s face as the man relaxed Randy found that he just wanted to stay right where he was. “Does it feel good John?” he asked quietly, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere that had grown around them. A low sigh left John, his shoulders wriggling slightly underneath Randy’s hands. “Feels really good,” the man admitted, and Randy licked his lips reflexively as John’s head fell forward slightly, the back of his jersey slipping just a touch to reveal more of the base of his neck. And Randy knew most assuredly now that John’s back was smooth, strong, and led to the most fantastic ass that Randy was positive he had ever seen in his life. He wanted to bite it. 

~::~

When the Big Day arrived, Cody was an emotional mess for several reasons. Although Ted had spent the past few days during their training (and he did mean actual training and not training as they could often lapse into) assuring Cody that should he need to kiss the blonde he wouldn’t be affected by it Cody’s jealousy was still all but choking him. The fact that Ted had to deliberately enhance his natural gorgeousness for this woman, and indeed any man and woman at the fundraiser to see, was also one that was causing Cody the same sort of stomach discomfort that accompanied eating undercooked chicken. Clenching his hands into fists Cody exhaled, counting to ten in his head. His games controller lay abandoned on the floor beside where he lay back on the couch, game on pause.

In a way he was hoping this woman had a change of heart and left Christian be as well as leaving Ted alone (which was, of course, the most fundamental in Cody’s mind, no offence Christian) so that they could just come back here and forget the episode. The fact that this was obviously not going to be the only attempt on Christian’s life did occur to him but Cody was determinedly sticking to the belief that next time the circumstance would fit one of the others better. Absently Cody wondered whether any of the others would maybe feel like he did… and he didn’t just mean about the prospect of their protégé having to act like a man-whore. Not that he could ask them; they wouldn’t deliberately want him in trouble but if they thought they were acting in Ted and Cody’s best interests...

“Cody?” Ted’s voice floated through from his bedroom (Cody had been pretty firm about keeping their bedrooms separate thus far, but only because he was terrified of going for more and Ted suddenly wanting to back off from him--- being rejected by Ted would quite literally kill him) and Cody turned his head towards the door with a puzzled expression settling on his face. “Something wrong Teddy?” he asked, wondering if his lover (and he still got all tingly like a teenage girl using that word in his head) was suddenly getting cold-feet about the whole event. Ted hadn’t seemed at all phased the past few days, had even asked about what he should do afterwards should he need to terminate their target which told Cody that Ted had understood his potential obligations in the mission all along.

“Could you come here a sec please?” Ted didn’t sound distressed but he seemed pretty pointed and Cody curiously pushed himself off of the floor and padded across to Ted’s room, knocking on the partially closed door lightly to let Ted know he was there before he pushed the door open a bit more. “What’s the mat—“Cody’s voice died in his throat as his mouth simultaneously ran dry as his stomach clenched. Ted was sans his shirt, with his dress pants open and just hanging onto his hips--- his fantastically grabbable ass undoubtedly being the main force keeping them up without aid or zipper or button. Ted held his shirt loosely in one hand, his jacket draped over the bed, and although he looked a little shy there was a wicked playfulness glimmering in his eyes, a slight smirk on his lips.

“You… wouldn’t help me with my shirt, would you?” and Cody knew that Ted wasn’t asking him because he suddenly struggled with buttons or needed a second pair of hands to ensure he had it on right; he was doing this to tease Cody, to, well, Cody supposed just to do something that he deemed couply with him. “Um, yeah,” Cody’s voice came out an octave or two higher than he would have liked but that couldn’t be helped. Taking a tentative step forward he wondered glibly whether his heart was pounding so loudly that Ted could hear it too because it sure felt like it was going hard enough to burst right out of his chest. Taking the shirt from Ted, Cody caught his lower-lip between his teeth as he eased the shirt onto Ted, over his strong shoulders and draping his delicious torso temptingly.

~:~

Cody took his time over the buttons, rather hoping that he would be able to do this in reverse later on... but that was a very dangerous thought. They could recover from a few shared kisses and extreme disappointment should things not work out, but he knew damned well that if they ever went that extra step then it would be that much harder to go back to a wholly platonic relationship, on the same uneven footing they were currently on. And anyway, after the debriefing and all the other things that came along with a mission, probably all they would feel like doing was stripping off hurriedly and falling into bed by the time they got back to the apartment. 

At least, he tried to tell himself that. 

Once he had Ted fastened up, he involuntarily reached up to smooth Ted's hair into position, taking a couple of steps back so that he could eye the other critically. Ted flushed slightly. “Will I do?”

Cody sighed. “If I didn't hate this woman for trying to kill Christian, then I sure would because she gets to take you out. You look incredible.”

Ted gave a disarming grin. “Thanks. But I'd much rather be out with you than with her.”

Cody smiled back before shaking off the thoughts of what he'd like to do to Ted and turning his attention back to business. If he got distracted now, then it would be disastrous for Ted. “You know how to switch the comm on and off?”

Ted nodded, reaching to the hinge of his jaw and pressing lightly. “Comm on. Cody?”

“Yeah?”

“Why did Wade put it under my skin?”

Cody hesitated for the briefest moment before deciding it was probably pointless to lie. “It was a part of his orders when he got permission to put you back together,” he said rather shortly. Wade had gone along with it because it was his job and to deny that part might have gotten the whole thing called off, with their boys getting put out of their misery rather than their lives saved. He didn't like to think about that part, but he thought the comms were going too far. Buried just under the skin, the comms were the smallest, most powerful electronics of that kind and in the past had been temporarily implanted, sometimes in willing participants who were deep cover agents and sometimes in unwilling participants – Cody had heard tales of people swallowing them in doctored food or drink, although it wasn't often that they chose to use the two-way ability in those cases – but he hadn't ever heard of them being used in reconstruction surgery. The comms worked quite simply; they could be switched on easily enough with a touch, everything that was heard by the comm was also heard by an agent listening on the same frequency and messages could be relayed through it. The messages to the comm were quiet enough that they couldn't be heard by just anyone and it was probably something to do with the proximity to the ear that they could be heard by the wearer, and yet they were powerful enough to pick up most conversations audible to the person with the comm. Cody supposed it could be easily removed but it still made him rather uneasy to think of Ted wearing such a device without the option to remove it through choice. 

Shrugging of the thought that they could be being listened to right then, Cody returned to the matter at hand. “I'll be nearby the fundraiser. I can hear what you can and I'll be monitoring you the whole time, okay? Justin and Wade will also be around. If you need to speak with me you only have to murmur, the comm can pick it up. Just try not to look like some crazy man talking to yourself, okay?”

“Okay.” Ted didn't seem at all bothered by it all. “Don't worry, I'll be just fine.”

“I know.” Cody took a deep breath, remembering that the comm was on and he probably shouldn't be kissing Ted any time soon – and then he took a risk, leaning in for a quick and quiet peck on the lips. Ted looked mildly disappointed that it wasn't more and Cody indicated to his own jaw to show why he hadn't done much more. “Right. There's a car waiting downstairs for you to take to the hotel to meet Maryse, a real clunker but at least it's fitting with your back story. And untraceable of course.”

“The sooner we do this, the sooner we can get back and gloat about how well we did.” Ted grabbed his jacket, looking every inch the gentleman as he walked past Cody – but he took the time to reach out and stroke the back of Cody's neck. Cody shivered a little. That wasn't fighting fair, not at all and as he headed after Ted, his own plan to meet up with Justin and Wade down the stairs, he contemplated how there was nothing fair about the situation they had all found themselves in. Nothing at all.

~:~

Maryse was nothing like Ted had been expecting. He had seen her picture and had heard something about how charming she could be, but he hadn't appreciated it until he experienced it. The first thing he noticed when she opened the door was that she was stunningly beautiful, dressed in a long red dress with slits up the side and a neckline that did little to hide the breasts struggling for freedom beneath. He wondered if she'd needed some reconstruction of her own, because he wasn't sure the laws of gravity would allow real boobs to weigh that much and still be so perky.

He introduced himself as 'Tim' as he had been told and found that Maryse wasn't much into small talk, finding the bare minimum about him as he walked to the car with her and opened her door. He closed her door and walked himself around to the passenger seat of the rather sporty number, wondering if it was chance that it perfectly matched her outfit or not. As soon as he was in the vehicle, she turned to look at him. 

“I'm sure you're a nice man, that you've got some story about how you came to be for hire and you're more than just an escort,” she said kindly. “The thing is though, I really have no interest in that. I expect you to be by my side at all times unless you are told not to be, to remain silent unless it would be rude to do otherwise and ensure that my needs are catered to. I do not wish to see you flirting with, or even looking at another woman. Or man, if that is your inclination. I do not wish to be embarrassed by you. There will be many rich and powerful people there and I do not expect you to go fishing for a potential mate. Is this clear?”

“It's clear,” replied Ted, thinking that he could hear the accent in her voice and the occasional slight formality she used. The tone might have been nice enough but his orders were certain and it was probably fortunate that he had interest in only one person romantically. And his full attention would be on her all right. All night. Especially when she didn't want it to be. 

Maryse turned music on loud and drove fast, leaving Ted a little concerned, not so much about the speed but how she managed to operate the car in four inch heels. She didn't seem to have a problem in that direction though and they soon arrived at the fundraiser, leaving the car with the valet. Before they entered, Maryse gave Ted a critical once-over, although the soldier found himself a lot less concerned about her opinion than he had been about Cody's. 

“You're a good looking boy,” she said casually. “I just hope you're not one of these men who're all good looks and big dicks and no idea what to do with it.”

Ted's eyes widened a little, rather shocked at the bluntness. And then he remembered that Cody could hear every word and gave Maryse a wicked grin that had nothing at all to do with her and everything to do with his unseen listener. “Ma'am, I know exactly what to do with it. I promise.”

Maryse raised an eyebrow. “Hmm, well we'll soon find out.” She smiled, looking every inch an excited young woman on a date rather than a cold-blooded assassin developing an alibi. “I'm looking forward to it.”

~:~

The fundraiser was boring in Cody's humble opinion. Ted didn't say very much throughout, although there were plenty of people visiting their table, mostly of the male persuasion. The small talk was inane and Cody had to struggle not to let his mind wander back to the comment Ted had made about knowing exactly what he was doing – and Maryse's answer. 

His hiding place was a catering van, which Cody had worried might be too cliché until he parked it up and found there were three others with the same company logo in place; the people doing the fundraising had gone all-out with the expenses it seemed. He sat in the back with Wade and a number of computers that the Brit was far more adept at than him, and he had always been quite tech-savvy. Wade wasn't being too talkative and Cody supposed that was a good thing. The man was a scientist and hadn't been in the army for a long time, he didn't think Wade had made it past field work when he was working for King and Country and probably most of this spy stuff was new to him. Cody had been in intel for a while and was more used to it, but it was a rare thing that he had seniority over a mission. Still, if Ted was going to be used in the way he currently was, then he would have to get used to it.

He could see Ted's vital signs on the screens, heart-rate, pulse, brainwaves. All normal, or so he thought. In that at least, Wade certainly would know more than him, although Wade seemed far more focused on Justin's readings, also on the computers in front of them. He thought that Wade would rather be able to speak with Justin and ensure that he was still in position as Ted's back-up, but because they had synchronised the comms in case they all needed to converse, it wasn't possible without Ted hearing him and they didn't want to distract the man with unnecessary conversation.

Not that the conversation they could hear seemed riveting. Much of it was men trying to chat up Maryse, telling her things about themselves to make their lives sound more interesting, their wealth immense. Maryse greeted it with a slight laugh, apparently not interested. Ted didn't say much and when asked about himself, Maryse tended to be the one to reply. Cody wondered if she was ashamed of having an escort rather than a real date, but then again she was supposed to be independently wealthy and why wouldn't she go for someone young and handsome rather than a man to boost her wallet?

The most interesting part of the night came when Maryse excused herself to use the ladies room. Cody wondered how Ted intended to deal with that and then he heard his lover's voice coming over the comm, barely audible even with the close proximity to those talented lips. “She's talking to Christian,” he said quietly.

Cody pressed the button on the computer that would allow him to speak back to Ted. “Has he seen you?”

“I don't think so. He's not looked over here and I tried to keep out of sight. And Maryse doesn't seem too interested in us meeting up.”

“Probably so Christian thinks he's in with a chance,” said Cody disdainfully, knowing that Christian probably wouldn't give her a second look, no matter how impressive her cleavage. He didn't get the attraction, but Christian was devoted to Alberto. He pressed the comm again. “Let us know when she finishes up.”

It was over seven minutes later when Ted spoke again. “She's left him be and gone to the bathroom. Alberto's keeping his distance.”

“He knows why she's here,” Cody told him. “He doesn't want to give it away by knocking her out in public.”

Ted chuckled but didn't say anything more and Cody started to get concerned that he had let Maryse get out of his sight for too long until he heard the woman's voice again a few minutes after that, just long enough for her to have been to the bathroom and checked her make-up. She didn't seem to suspect a thing and although Cody had known Ted could pull it off, it was a relief to hear the mild dismissiveness in her tone when she spoke to Ted. Although she might just be a great actress. 

The auction seemed to go on forever and Cody noticed that Maryse seemed very good at bumping up the prices of things without actually buying them herself. Her bidding on an item seemed to attract the same men that had wanted her number or to take her to dinner or women that called their bids with an almost aggressive tone. He had to wonder how many people found themselves with some holiday or trinket that they didn't really want as a result of trying to impress or outdo the woman.

Those other men might want you, but you won't be having my man, he vowed quietly. 

The bidding and the items seemed to go on forever and Cody sighed, bored, glancing over at Wade, who didn't look much happier. Come to think of it, Wade hadn't really been himself for a few days now. He contemplated minding his own business and then decided against it. “Hey, Wade? You've been kinda out of things just lately. Everything okay?”

Wade looked a little surprised. “Yeah, fine. No problems at all.”

“Really? Is everything okay with Justin?”

“Of course! Why do you ask?”

Cody was a little taken aback by the slightly aggressive tone that had crept into his voice. “No reason. It's just – this is a weird assignment really, having this whole one-on-one situation and I know you weren't expecting to be a handler at all. I know it's not been all smooth sailing for us and I'm, I dunno, curious if it's been the same for you guys.”

“Oh.” Wade looked a little mollified. “Well, it's not been all roses, like you said. I'm not used to this and all my research has been taking a back seat. Worth it though.”

Cody internally raised his eyebrows. He never thought he'd hear Wade say anything was better than research. It was something of a joke among those who knew him that Wade would cheerily ignore everyone and everything around him when he was on the track of some potential new breakthrough. “I take it you're enjoying Justin's company then.”

“It's rewarding to see the difference something I engineered can make,” said Wade defensively. “I don't normally hang around for the aftermath.”

Cody didn't drop his eyes and Wade tried to hold his own expression before giving a slight smile and a chuckle. “And okay, Justin's good to have around as well. He's fun, even if there's stuff you have to teach him all over again that you don't realise he doesn't remember. How about you? Ted cramping your style yet?”

Cody tried not to blush. Ted sure as hell hadn't been cramping his style. Ted had put his style to shame. “It's great having him around actually.”

“Right.” Wade gave him a speculative glance and then turned away when he realised Cody was giving him the same look. Cody turned his attention back to the comm when he realised that the last item on the auction was up, but his mind was on Wade and what little he had revealed. He had been secretive enough that Cody was starting to wonder, was there a chance that Wade was experiencing the same thing that he was with Ted? It would explain why the Brit wasn't forthcoming and clinical, as Cody would have expected him to be. Then again, they were all protective of their boys and that included John and Chris. 

Ted's voice spoke over the comm, oddly distorted, as if his mouth was in a glass or something. Which was probably the case if he was trying to hide the fact of him mumbling. “They're leaving.”

'They' had to refer to Alberto and Christian, Cody realised. He exchanged a quick look with Wade. This might well be it, although he had to wait to see what Maryse's next move would be--

“Tim, I think we should go,” said Maryse, loud and clear over the comm. “Here's the ticket, get the car and wait for me at the front. I shall go and say my goodbyes.”

The dismissal was clear and Cody tensed as Ted had some casual exchange with her and apparently moved to the doors. “I'm doubling back,” he almost breathed as the two men in the van listened, and presumably Justin heard from his own vantage point. “Keep an ear out.”

Cody didn't need telling twice. The van was so silent within that he could hear the beating of his own heart, although on the computer, Ted's remained steady.

There was nothing for close to ten minutes and then Ted came back to them. “She's taking the elevator. I'm taking the stairs.”

“Be careful,” said Cody before he could stop himself. The fundraiser had been in the function room of the grand hotel and they knew that Alberto would have taken the presidential suite of the building even if he hadn't told them. Since the evening had been earmarked as the night an attempt would be made on his lover, Alberto would not have risked any of his homes and there might be guards around – but Maryse wouldn't have bet on Ted. At least, Cody hoped she wouldn't. 

Ted's heartbeat accelerated only slightly as he raced up the stairs and Cody had time to envy his conditioning as he waited for more news. “How many guards does 'Berto have up there?” he asked Wade.

“One outside, Ricardo in the room down the hall. A couple more milling around looking out for anything suspicious.” Wade gave a smile that showed no humour. “I suppose he trusts us to take care of it.”

Alberto's trust meant nothing to Cody at that moment. It was all about Ted. Cody thought back to fastening Ted's shirt up and licked his suddenly dry lips. He had been fantasising about undoing them all again but right then he was praying that he got the chance. He had done his research on Maryse and all their intel on her suggested she was uncompromising and deadly. 

He heard the sound of a door opening and then Ted's voice over the comm, sounding grim. “She's been here, the guard's down. But she's not near Alberto's door. She's down the hall...”

Cody almost forgot to breathe as he heard Maryse's voice, faint but getting closer, along with another voice he took a moment to recognise – and then he heard the whimper, the Spanish pleas. Ricardo. 

“You do as I say and I'll even let you keep the testicles.” Maryse sounded nothing like the playful character she had played earlier in the night, all business. 

“Got her in sight,” breathed Ted and Cody wondered where he was hiding from her view, his guess would be behind the door leading to the stairs but he had no way to be sure. He could be anywhere. “She's got Ricardo, she's marching him to their room – I think she's got a weapon on him but I can't see...”

“Do what you have to,” said Cody, his heart beating wildly and wondering how all Ted's vital signs showed him being as calm as he was. 

Ricardo gabbled something high-pitched that Cody didn't catch and then Maryse spoke again, voice cold. “You'd just better sound calm. You tell Mr Cage that he's got an urgent call and you have to speak to him right away. Do it right or else you'll be squeaking even higher than you already--”

Cody heard several noises all at once. Another muffled sound from Alberto, a click, something that might have been a sigh and then Maryse, sounding so clear that her lips might have been directly next to the comm. “Tim?”

He didn't dare to distract Ted by speaking. Instead he looked up, over at Wade, uncaring that the naked fear he had for Ted was written all over his face, shining in his eyes.

~:~

When it happened, it happened fast. 

Ted had indeed been crouched behind the door to the stairs, opened barely a crack. When Maryse had passed him by he had risen, opened it soundlessly – there was something to be said for these expensive places where the doors were deliberately quiet so as not to disturb any guests – and stepped out. The thick carpet had swallowed his footsteps and he took only a second to notice that Maryse was still behind Ricardo, one hand on his shoulder and the other pressed between his legs. Judging by what he'd overheard, he was pretty sure he knew what body part she was holding hostage. 

And it was a smart plan, if one didn't know much about Ricardo's relationship with Christian and Alberto. If Ricardo summoned Christian, it was likely he'd think it was somewhat odd. Or perhaps not. It was simple to think that he would realise something was up but it wasn't certain. Some things only seemed odd after the fact.

He'd been carrying a knife of his own rather than a gun, it was easier to get away with such a weapon especially when Maryse was probably versed in what to look for when it came to concealed weapons. He would have preferred a hunting knife or something but the switchblade he had ended up with would do just fine. He saw Maryse stiffen, as if sensing someone behind her, but it was far too late for that. He held the handle to the back of her neck and pressed the button, the six-inch blade shooting out straight into her neck. It went through the flesh with frightening ease, cold steel embedding into her flesh. Maryse gasped, her legs giving out and Ted caught her as she sank to the floor. 

“Tim?” Her voice was weak and disbelieving as she looked into his face.

Ted looked up at Ricardo. “If you start yelling, then Alberto will be furious,” he said coldly. It was the one thing that could get through to the man and it worked, because he gave a couple of shuddering breaths and nodded. 

“Go back to your room and let me deal with this. We don't want it traced back here, do we?”

Ricardo shook his head almost violently and hurried back to his own room, almost waddling as he tried to keep his thighs pressed together, a little late after what had just happened. Under other circumstances, Ted might have laughed, the man reminded him of a penguin. But there was a time for humour and when there was someone dying in his arms, it wasn't the time. 

Maryse had her eyes wide open still, looking back at him – but they were clouding over rapidly. Ted had intended to release the blade directly into her brain stem, killing her instantly, but something had apparently gone wrong. Still, she didn't have long left. He didn't need to be a doctor to see that.

“How did I not see what you really were?” she asked tiredly.

“I'm sorry,” he said calmly. “But you can't be allowed to do what you were planning.”

And with that he took her face between his hand, almost a lovers embrace, then sharply jerked her head and neck around. There was a crack and this time there was no mistake; he could almost feel the life leaving her body. 

“It's done,” he said to Cody, still calm. “As discussed, I'm going to move her away from the room.”

Cody okayed it over the comm, sounding – odd. That was the only thing so far that gave Ted any kind of pause. He didn’t want Cody to be upset by what happened that night. Sure, Cody wasn't a soldier but he had to understand that this had to be done?

It wasn't the time to discuss it, not when Justin and Wade could hear. 

He checked the carpet for blood, but he hadn't withdrawn the blade and most of the blood had been kept in her body because of the hilt of the switchblade. What little had escaped had trickled over her neck and the hallway seemed clean enough. Satisfied, he picked Maryse up in a fireman's carry and headed back for the stairs, knowing there would be few people using them at that time of night, that high up, when the elevator was in service. He went down five flights of stairs, recalling the blueprints of the building he had studied. In this part of the hotel were the less glamorous rooms and he put his head around the door, saw no one and let himself into the hallway. The rooms all looked the same from the outside but there was one that had no number on it and no keycard access, a vaguely disguised cleaning closet. He opened it up and dumped Maryse inside. She would be found in the morning and the investigation would begin, but no one would know where he had come from or who he was. And should there be any kind of photo recognition technology used, they would only match his identity up to a man who had died some time before. 

It never occurred to him that he should feel any guilt or remorse over his actions. He had done the job he had set out to do and now he could get back to Cody, the one thing that meant everything to him.

~:~

Casually, Ted met Justin on his way out around the back of the building towards where the catering trucks were waiting. The doors immediately popped open of one of them and Justin and Ted slipped inside. Almost the moment the doors closed the engine started up--- Ted hadn’t even noticed a driver when he’d passed, although when he saw that Cody was the only one seated in the back of the vehicle he supposed it must have been Wade. A few moments later they were pulling away from the hotel. “I called to let ‘Berto know that we’d managed to sort things out,” Justin said casually, knowing that Wade could hear him through the small sliding section of wall. He supposed that that must have been put in for their purpose because he couldn’t see why a routine catering van would need one.

“Good,” Cody said, and Ted could hear that his voice still sounded strangely hollow, as though he wasn’t sure how to use it or hadn’t used it in a while. It took all of Ted’s self-control not to reach over and take Cody’s hand to comfort him but as soon as they reached their apartment he was going to do everything in his power to make sure Cody was OK. It was a harrowing thought for Ted to consider that this might suddenly somehow change Cody’s feelings for him, and he prayed fervently to whatever deity might be listening to him that this didn’t ruin what they had been building together. Justin cocked his head slightly, seemingly regarding Cody and Ted found himself once again fighting an urge--- but this time the urge was to blindfold Justin in some way to prevent him looking like that.

This jealousy thing (Ted had Googled his feelings as articulately as he could recently, just to see if his understanding of them was true, and jealousy was one of the ones he had pinpointed that made sense) was hard to get used to, and Ted absently wondered what he may have experienced it over in the past. Nothing stirred his memory to indicate he had once found something more important, and he sincerely doubted that he would ever find anything as important ever again. The drive back to the main building and garages of the Corp. seemed to take forever and the longer they spent in the back of the van the more anxious Ted became. And considering he’d barely broken a sweat over ending a woman’s life that was saying something indeed. Finally, mercifully, they parked in an empty van-bay.

“Good job Ted,” Wade offered lightly as he climbed down from the front as the other three exited the back. Immediately some man appeared at their side and Wade silently handed the keys over with a nod of thanks, the man giving a quick smile and then getting into the van and moving it off somewhere else. Ted supposed they were probably going to be cleaning and refurbishing it for whatever job was going to come up next. Ted nodded back but didn’t speak, his eyes flicking towards Cody who was standing just off to his side in his peripheral vision. If Wade and Justin noticed anything odd about the atmosphere they didn’t say anything, and after bidding their friends goodbye the two headed off. For a moment Ted hesitated, unsure whether he should try speaking to him yet.

“Come on,” Cody said softly, preventing Ted from having to agonise over the prospect for too long, “I just need to stop in and let Alex know that you’ll be back on training tomorrow and then we can go home.” Despite the lateness of the hour there were still people milling about and so Ted didn’t dare reach for Cody’s hand, although he really wanted to hold it. He loved how well their hands fit together, and how Cody’s were just that bit softer than his own. Honestly, there wasn’t a bit of Cody’s body Ted didn’t like or wasn’t curious over… and that especially applied to that which he had not seen yet. As they walked from the garage Ted allowed their fingers to brush together as they stepped into a lift, and Ted felt his chest ease a little when he caught a flicker of a smile playing on his lips.

~::~

“Cody—“Ted started as they were safely inside of their apartment, the closing of the door essentially signalling the shutting-out of the outside world. However, before he could begin to apologise or query the other’s thoughts Cody’s mouth took his and suddenly speech seemed meaningless and almost inappropriate. Cody’s hands were on his shoulders, pushing, and Ted allowed himself to be directed backwards. So focused was he on the sensation of Cody’s mouth on his, the feeling of Cody’s tongue stroking over his teeth and his own tongue, that he missed the fact that he was being directed towards the bathroom. Shoes and jackets were somehow shed on the way, leaving a miniature trail of sensual allusion behind it, stopping several feet away from the bathroom door as they went into it.

As the schick! sound of the shower curtain opening met his ears though Ted broke the kiss, lips swollen and breathing hard, the taste of Cody still strong in his mouth and further fanning his ardour to want more. Once again Ted’s mouth opened to talk, and once again Cody did something to stop him. “Ack!” the first initial rush of spray was icy cold and it soaked through Ted’s shirt and chilled his skin immediately. Ted could see from the look on Cody’s face that the sensation affected him too, although the other man made no sound that Ted could hear over the rushing of the water. Shaking his wet hair from his eyes Ted blinked rapidly, unsure what exactly what happening. They were standing underneath the shower, fully-clothed, and Ted couldn’t help but feel guilty for two reasons. 

One, that had been a professionally tailored outfit and two… he wanted Cody to be completely naked. He wanted to peel the wet clothes off of Cody’s body and worship it the way he had his mouth several times since the first. Tentatively, since he had no idea what the other was thinking Ted reached his hands and braced them on Cody’s hips, drawing Cody closer. The water was getting hotter now, starting to create steam in the bathroom--- or that could have just been the atmosphere of the temperature between them. Cody pressed into Ted’s body willingly enough and Ted felt emboldened by that at least. Finally, when the ravenette’s mouth met his again Ted drew him closer, hands daring drifting lower to cup Cody’s ass to drag their lower-bodies together, squeezing firmly.

Being around Cody always had Ted throwing caution to the wind, but this time around he was startled even at himself. It was as though all of the emotion he hadn’t felt when he had been dealing with Maryse was making itself known now. The sound of Cody moaning into his mouth seemed to echo in Ted’s ears and Ted held him tighter still, revelling in the way Cody’s hands were buried into his hair, tugging restlessly as they continued to kiss as though their lives would end should they stop. Somewhere in the back of his mind Ted knew that he shouldn’t be encouraging this that Cody was still upset and that he was somehow taking advantage, but at the same time his body and his heart didn’t seem interested in listening to what his head had to say. He pulled back for desperate breath.

Droplets of water were glittering atop Cody’s thick lashes, and it took Ted a moment to realise that some of the water on Cody’s face wasn’t from the shower. Guilt contracted like a concrete ball in his stomach; he had never once considered himself in danger, but it seemed that Cody had. Or, maybe it wasn’t the potential physical danger that had been bothering him… “I’m OK,” he whispered, bringing one hand up to cup Cody’s cheek, “I’m OK baby,” he murmured gently once more, squeezing his lover again gently. Cody sniffed slightly and then dropped his head, burying it into Ted’s shoulder. Having Cody upset over him wasn’t something he relished, but the fact that Cody clearly cared so deeply about him made his chest feel warm in a way he was certain he had never experienced before.

When Cody pulled back Ted could see that his eyes were still a little shiny with tears, but there was something of a wicked smile playing around his lips that had the tightness in his stomach changing, becoming hotter in anticipation instead. “Let’s get you out of these clothes baby. I was really proud of you tonight, and I’m so glad that you’re OK.” For a moment Ted almost completely missed what was being said to him because his mind seemed stuck on get you out of these clothes. He sincerely hoped that Cody wasn’t about to tease him by undressing him and then leaving him there in the shower alone. He hoped that Cody didn’t always get like this when he had a mission, because Ted was willing to do anything that was needed of him so long as Cody remained in his life just like this.


	11. Chapter Ten: Red And Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ((Somewhat gory scenes described in this chapter, so please read with caution if easily triggered))
> 
> A pizza-delivery had never been a danger until now, and Wade's talents are once again needed.

“Did you get bored without me?” Justin asked coyly as he sat on one of the sides in their kitchen, swinging one leg gently back and forth. He had undressed pretty much as soon as they had got back in, clad only in a t-shirt and his boxers, and he sincerely hoped that the way Wade’s eyes had flickered from his exposed legs back to his notes and back was an indication that he was enjoying the bit of skin Justin had on display. But, irritatingly, almost as quickly as it seemed Justin managed to gain Wade’s attention the Dr seemed to put his walls up all over again. Justin had become pretty adept at recognising the signs now… which was why he was hopeful that if he just remained consistent then he might get what he wanted, what he needed from the crisply polite British man.

“What?” Wade asked, and Justin almost pouted as Wade pushed his glasses back up his nose; he hated when the man wore them because it obscured his eyes somewhat for all they were thin-framed and clear, and Justin much preferred when he could see all of Wade. Even the other night, although obscured by darkness, what he had seen on Wade’s face and experienced in his bodily reactions had been enough to fuel Justin’s needs for a while. The fact that he had reacted to Wade like that, and that Wade had reacted to him in turn, had confirmed for Justin that he was genuinely attracted to Wade. It was frustrating to know what Wade was attracted to him though when he wouldn’t actually do anything. Another level of that frustration came from the fact that he knew why he held back.

Propriety, not wanting to take advantage… Justin had located Wade’s notebook on one occasion, genuinely by coincidental accident, and he’d had a little peak at the latest entry. And, sadly, there hadn’t been anything about Wade but plenty about him. It was almost as though Wade was compiling an intimate dossier on him. He wished that there was something more to it, and yet he was frightened of maybe misinterpreting Wade, and having the man leave. He’d much rather admire Wade from afar and keep him in his life with the occasion sneaky stolen night-time moment then have Wade leave him. “I said did you miss me when you were stuck in the van with Cody? I missed you,” he said honestly. And he’d meant it. The party could have been fun potentially if Wade had been there too.

And he’d been the teeniest bit jealous that Cody had been shut in such a small and enclosed space with Wade… if they had been so inclined they could have pushed that further. The thought made a sick feeling settle in Justin’s stomach and he squared his shoulders before hopping down off of the counter. Conscious of Wade paying attention to his movements even though he wasn’t exactly acknowledging what Justin was saying to him, Justin made himself a drink. As he was rooting inside of the fridge for some juice he asked, “Wade, do you have a girlfriend?” the word tasted awkward in his mouth, and not just because he was terrified that Wade’s answer might destroy all of his longing hopes in one fell swoop. The sudden silence that accompanied his question was almost deafening.

Trepidation suddenly filled Justin; had he gone too far? Wade seemed to let him get away with a lot but maybe he had misunderstood the parameters of their relationship? Maybe he had crossed a line and upset him? “I—“he started, closing the fridge with the carton of juice in hand, falling silent when he found himself meeting Wade’s eyes directly. There was something in the man’s eyes that had Justin both wanting to quail back in slight fear and also to drop to his knees and do things to Wade that he had seen on a late-night show when Wade had been asleep that he was sure nice boys weren’t supposed to do. Absently he wondered what Wade would do if he just made his intentions known like that. “No,” Wade’s voice all but reverberated around Justin’s head, “I don’t have a girlfriend.” 

~::~

“What’s wrong?” the soft voice from behind him almost made Alberto jump to the degree where he could have fallen from the balcony of the suite had he not had his hand braced on it. Shoving his phone into the pocket of his robe he smiled fondly at his lover as Christian stepped onto the balcony behind him. The blonde’s eyes were a little sleepy, his hair mussed, and Alberto was sure that there wasn’t a look that Christian couldn’t make both appealing and strangely adorable all at once. “Nothing Christian, why don’t you go back to bed?” he asked him. He’d been taking his call outside because Christian had nodded off not long after they had reached the room. Alberto had been too anxious to sleep until he had known for a fact that everything had been taken care of as needed to end it all.

“Are you coming with me?” Christian asked with a soft smile. The apparent tiredness in his face even with the smile had Alberto fighting back the urge to fuss him in concern; there was no way Christian had to know that an attempt had been made on him so he could only assume that maybe the other was being overworked. However, the Mexican already knew that should he try and interfere in Christian’s work anymore than he already could within the legal parameters of being his boss that his lover was most likely to banish him to the couch when they returned home for the foreseeable future. “Si,” he nodded, stepping back off of the balcony and closing the doors behind them, locking them and then checking them. Christian allowed him his little paranoia, settling into the rather huge bed.

“Are you going to tell me what’s really wrong?” Christian asked softly when Alberto shrugged out of his own robe and got underneath the covers, pulling Christian so the blonde’s head rested on his chest and he was settled between his legs. Alberto dropped a kiss to the top of Christian’s head and murmured, “Go to sleep Chihuahua, we have to be up early in the morning.” A small snort sound greeted his words and Alberto mentally thanked whoever was listening when Christian merely settled down instead of calling him on his evasiveness. Omitting things from his lover’s knowledge wasn’t a problem but he found that lying to him outright was difficult--- it had taken him so long to gain the man’s trust and love that he was actually conscious of the consequences of betraying that trust.

Soon Christian was asleep and Alberto listened to his deep and even breathing. For the first time that evening since receiving the news of the successful mission he allowed himself a smile. Already Ted had repaid his ‘debt’ to Alberto for the Mexican paying for the technology and the man with the know-how to use it to bring him back. Of course he knew that technically they hadn’t asked for it and therefore what he had done was equitable to an act of charity, but that didn’t matter. Already he was becoming assured of the fact that this investment was going to make all the money spent worth it. Arms tightening around Christian a little Alberto murmured, “They will come at you over my dead body, Christian.” Christian sighed and Alberto stilled, momentarily worried that he had awoken him.

The moment passed and Christian remained asleep, something Alberto was profoundly grateful for; he would never hear the end of it from Christian that he didn’t deem the other able to handle the matter on his own, even though it was proven that it had been for his wellbeing that Ted and the others had been present. Something that sounded uncharacteristically like a giggle left the aristocrat as he reached and turned all of the notifications off on his phone before setting it down, considering how the event was going to be handled that following morning when the assassin’s body was discovered. Alberto would have liked to go old-fashioned American gangster on her and have her dropped in the river, but Ricardo had pointed out that more elaborate cover-ups were what often got people caught. 

~::~

“As of yet there are no suspects. The woman has been identified as Miss Maryse Ouellette, a French-Canadian originally from Quebec. If anyone has any information please call—“the eager voice of the young reporter on-screen was cut off immediately when a furious stab of a finger onto a remote control button had the TV switched off. Burying his fingers into his hair Laurinitus mentally screamed; Maryse was the best in the business and she had been caught out. She had never been caught out before. And from the sound of what had happened to her… Laurinitus scowled as he threw the manila folder that he had been sent from the police-chief undoubtedly at McMahon’s behest. First a knife had been run through her neck, and then her neck had been broken. No doubt as to it being a homicide.

This had fucked up everything. And the fact that they hadn’t found one shred of evidence as to where her actual murder occurred or who had done it, spoke of a professional. Of a very good professional. Fucking Del Rio! Snatching the phone off of his desk Laurinitus barked into it, “Vickie! Get me JBL on the phone and cancel all of my morning appointments. No Vickie, I said now!” he slammed the phone down and moved across to his cabinet, all but wrenching the door open to pull out a bottle from within. They had miscalculated, and even with the burn of alcohol it left a bitter taste in his mouth. They had fucked up because somehow someone had known who she was. As the thought occurred to him Laurinitus slowly placed his glass down onto his desk and sat down at the chair behind it.

How could they have known? Maryse had no criminal record even with her extensive completed hit history and so it wasn’t as though she was someone that could have been traced through any agency to match MO’s on. Curling his fingers through his hair once more Laurinitus growled softly and then leant forward onto his desk. To say that he was very upset right now would not be an understatement. They hadn’t believed that she would fail, and it was apparent now that they had placed too much faith in her. Well, she was a woman… they shouldn’t have sent a woman to do a man’s job. Muttering curses underneath his breath Laurinitus poured himself some more to drink, knocking that and another glass back before the intercom on his desk buzzed to life briefly.

Switching it off just as JBL walked through the door Laurinitus waited until the door was closed behind them before hissing, “This is so bad! Do you have any idea what he’s going to do to us?! Clearly he’s got some fucking super-soldier and now he’s gonna come after us and--!” the slap landed on him by JBL left an unnervingly large hand-print on his face, and Laurinitus didn’t move for a moment due to the shock of his partner actually raising a hand to him. And, wait, he didn’t mean partner like that--- he wasn’t a dirty queer like the Mexican and his dog. Bringing a hand up to his face he scowled venomously at JBL who looked as annoyingly unmoved as ever. Laurinitus had always been the excitable one, it took a lot to get JBL to show his true temper--- and boy, he had one.

“Stop acting like a pussy,” JBL muttered, grabbing another glass and pouring himself a generous measure of liquid as he seated himself down on one of the couches Laurinitus kept inside of his ridiculously large and ostensibly comfortable office. “Pussy?” Laurinitus choked and JBL nodded, “Stuttering isn’t something I do, Johnny, don’t repeat me. You heard so I suggest you listen. We’re not out of the running yet.” Whatever Laurinitus had been about to say died on the tip of his tongue when he heard the other’s words, brows furrowing and slight suspicion showing on his face, “What’re you talking about?” Laurinitus asked and JBL rolled his eyes as though he was talking to someone particularly stupid, “I’m talking about the fact that we need to just come up with a second plan.”

He really wasn’t phased, thought Laurinitus dazedly. JBL was acting as though they didn’t have a care in the world that their assassination attempt had failed and that as such there was every chance that Del Rio was going to send someone after them… and though Laurinitus had no doubt he could hold his own he had no idea what the hell had been done to these super-soldiers, and if they were hit the right way they would draw much more attention than he knew either he nor JBL would want. “You have something in mind?” he asked, unable to help sounding the slightest bit hopeful at the prospect. JBL’s face suddenly pinched and Laurinitus wanted to kick himself; of course JBL didn’t have another plan in place yet, even he wasn’t that on the ball. Fuck. The longer the waited the bigger the risk.

~::~ 

“Nice to see you back with us, Ted,” Alex smiled as he saw the blonde man leading the way into the gym. “The job went well then yeah?” he asked and Ted smiled politely and nodded, confirming the question, and the following one enquiring as to his wellbeing and as to whether he felt up to training that day. Ted looked almost affronted by the question and Alex laughed before motioning them all onto the mats to do some of their customary warm-up exercises. Chris and John were attempting to pump Cody and Wade for information without allowing their boys to overhear anything--- and sometimes because they never indicated it forgetting that they had advanced hearing was easy. Randy knew most of John’s passwords from hearing the man murmuring them to himself as he used them.

He hadn’t told John this, and he knew that John didn’t do it when he was outside somewhere else, so Randy could only speculate that it was because John felt comfortable and secure within their home that he would do something that would otherwise be seen as reckless. “So, Ted just got her?” Chris asked, frowning just a little; he hadn’t been alone in his anxiety that maybe Ted wouldn’t be able to go through with it because of some misguided chivalry or whatever, or that it would have an adverse effect upon him… but Ted seemed completely and utterly fine. If anything he seemed somehow more keen than usual, and since none of them were ever half-assed that was saying something alright. “Yeah… he used the knife and then broke her neck,” Cody mumbled the words a little thickly, quiet.

Ted may not have been harmed, mentally or psychologically by what had happened as things were going, but Cody didn’t like to revisit what had happened. He had awoken from a terrible nightmare just that morning wherein that woman’s final word had echoed in her head over and over again… It was only the gentle murmur of Ted’s voice and the strong sure arms around him that had allowed Cody to relax. Never had he been under the impression that anything different would be happening at the end of the jobs that Ted and the others were called out on, but it still didn’t make it easier. Killing created characters on a gaming system was much different to hearing your lover ending someone’s life with his bare hands. Although Ted had probably done her a mercy according to the news report.

“Huh…” John murmured, a pensive look coming over his face, dark and a little closed. Cody exchanged a look with Wade, wondering if maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. Wade merely shrugged a little and then glanced back out to the floor where it seemed their warm-ups had been finished and their sparring and training was beginning. “You alright, Cena?” Chris asked absently and John nodded, seeming to come back from whatever place he had been to previously. “Yeah, fine. I fancy some coffee, anyone else want some?” Cody started to stand up, quirking a small smile at him, “I’ll help, you can’t carry that many by yourself.” John shrugged and nodded, and the pair headed out of the gym to the vending machine outside, unaware of the two pairs of eyes following them.

~:~

Lauriniatis paced the floor long after Layfield had gone, ordering Vickie not to bother him with calls and having already cancelled his appointments. Maryse had failed, that was the thought that kept going through his head. Somehow, she had failed and that suggested that Alberto knew something and had hired someone even better to get the drop on her. The news reports suggested that she had been attacked from behind and whoever managed that had to be very good. Maryse had been going for this long without even a whiff of suspicion – except to those who could match her price and were in the know. Someone had to know her reasons to be in town and that suggested they could match her price – and that meant that they could easily have paid her off to take a hike. That she had been killed meant that it was personal. And that Alberto managed to keep up the charade throughout the evening and the following day suggested that he was a cold-blooded bastard with nerves of steel. 

If he had known about Maryse, and he certainly had the connections to keep tabs on the comings and goings of suspicious people, then how much did he know about who had been involved with hiring her? How much did Del Rio know about him and his role in the whole thing?

And since he had been one of the men to mastermind a threat to Christian, how long might it be before Del Rio decided to put an end to him?

No way was he letting that happen. He would have to finish it before Del Rio decided to take some kind of revenge. Whoever had put a hit on Maryse had vanished into the night, there weren't even any clues. The man she had been with had not turned up but he would bet that the escort (oh yes, they all knew about her taste for gentlemen who knew when to shut up and when to put out) had simply vanished into the night when she didn't turn up and was lying low until the heat was off, unwilling to be involved in the investigation. Whatever he might have seen, he wasn't going to talk and in any case, Lauriniatis was willing to bet he hadn't seen a thing. She would hardly have her boy-toy accompany her on a hit.

He was starting to feel paranoid. What if there really was a hit on him? What if Del Rio wanted him dead that day? It wasn't as if the man had anything much to fear from his own corporation after all, he thought sourly. It was him who needed Del Rio out of the way just as soon as possible and that hadn't changed – it had just become more pressing. And Layfield, the asshole, had insisted they wait until their next attempt, while Lauriniatis paced and worried and stared out of the window wondering if any of the cars parked nearby carried someone ready to send him to his death.

It was all very well for Layfield, he wasn't the obvious suspect when it came to a hit on Del Rio's plaything. There was a chance that Del Rio hadn't even realised that he was involved and even if he had, it was Lauriniatis who was the obvious suspect, not him. The same went for McMahon. Even if he did, it wasn't them who would be his main target surely. He was the main competition and that would make him the hit. 

Even if Del Rio had him professionally killed rather than physically, it would amount to the same thing. All it would take was this new weaponry that was rumoured to finish his corporation off and then there would be investigations and jail time and maybe Del Rio would be happy enough with the bum-boys in there but Lauriniatis would rather die.

The situation hadn't really changed. He had to get rid of Del Rio. The only change came from knowing that Del Rio seemed to be aware of the situation and that just meant he had to act faster.   
In fact, he would probably be a little more relaxed, not expecting anything so soon. And the method wasn't the important part. If Christian remained the target then McMahon would still direct the attention of the police toward Del Rio himself rather than an outside source and things would go just as they had planned. Lauriniatis had learned that a direct hit wasn't going to work, not with the security Del Rio would have now and since he seemed to be keeping an eye on the best that money could buy when it came to outside assistance. But he had other ways and means. There were a hundred ways to get to a man, his company built the hardware and he thought he knew just the man for the job. 

Abruptly he headed for the door, slamming out of his office and startling Vickie, who jumped and quickly clicked on something on her computer. More than likely she had been browsing the internet since there wasn't a whole lot for her to do really but it irked him even so. She widened her eyes in a way that was presumably supposed to make her look very attractive but actually reminded him of a deer in the headlights. And she was out of luck anyway, when it came to dating he thought that Maryse had the right idea prior to getting her neck broken. Little did he know that she didn't care much for him either; money was always nice but she liked her men to be young and dumb.

“Can I help you Mr Lauriniatis?” she asked hopefully. 

“I'll be in the building, page me if I'm needed,” he said abruptly and headed for the elevator, silently congratulating himself. There was one loose canon in the corporation that he might have fired a long time before except that something had told him that keeping the man around might just pay off. And it looked like finally, it had. 

Like Del Rio, Lauriniatis did most of his business from a vast multi-storey building with the corporation logo in lights on the side and the various divisions set up on different floors, multiple floors for some of them. Unlike Del Rio, this one was his only one and it was considerably smaller than the one Del Rio kept in Chicago. That irked him as well, but who knew? If he did manage to set up Del Rio and poach whatever this weapon was, then he might just be able to buy out the building and the assets of the company when the man went to jail for a thousand years. 

He had heard that the lowest floors of Del Rio's place were used for administration, with the computer nerds taking up floors above them and the military department above them. The science labs apparently took up several floors with their indiscriminate dabbling and he'd heard that Del Rio kept a couple of floors for his personal staff and meeting rooms. He'd heard tell the man kept a bedroom in there. He didn't know any of that for sure, only that certain floors needed certain clearance – but people got careless all the time. Especially bored security guards. And he didn't think he'd have to worry about Del Rio's personal guards for this little venture. 

A nagging voice in his head reminded him that he had told Layfield he would wait. But screw Layfield. The man simply didn't understand the importance of acting on the spur of the moment. Lauriniatis did and that was how he had built an empire. 

His own military department was the largest in the building due to it being their most profitable sector. Not that he had bombs or anything like that built on the premises, that would be suicidal. Nothing more deadly than a gun was allowed to be made or tested there, but that didn't mean that the hard work didn't happen where he could keep an eye on it. Blueprints, plans, potential targets, potential uses for a given weapon, they were all plotted right there. And of course, they had a high-security area built beneath the building that even many who worked in the building didn't suspect. That was where the bio-weapons were perfected. The same place that had come up with a rather lovely bomb that coated those nearby with sticky, burning acid along with a nice little virus that completely screwed up vast parts of the brain, just in case the initial harm wasn't message enough. He had heard that such a device had taken out an entire squad of Del Rio's militia a few months before and although he didn't usually have a personal opinion of those who were affected by his merchandise, it was just business after all, he hoped that the little setback had really pissed Del Rio off. 

It wasn't there he was heading to though. His PR department was only a few floors below his own office and he stopped there, noticing how conversation suddenly became a whole lot more focused at the sight of the boss moving through the room. He hid his smirk and made his way to the small office of to the side where he found his man, working studiously on a rather abstract piece that was supposed to be part of a series of magazine advertisements. He wasn't at all sure it was going to work, but they were rather fascinating and usually if they gave the work to one of the drones, they managed to mainstream it just enough so they had something accessible and yet special. His advertising department was renown for its excellence in that way and it got people talking so that had to be a good thing, right?

Of course, this particular artist wasn't just known for his painting talent but this at least kept him calmer than when he had first come to the attention of Lauriniatis, when he had been part of the militia he commanded.

He hoped the man missed those days, because he was about to get a taste of them back.

~:~

John and Cody hadn't returned with the coffee when Alex called it a day with the training and that didn't make either Ted or Randy feel any better. They hit the showers with the intent of hurrying it up – with the way things had been, neither one liked their handlers out of their sight for too long – but it wasn't going to happen. The four of them didn't always get much chance to talk among themselves and they certainly hadn't with Cody shadowing Ted since the night before and that was what they wanted to discuss. 

“Did she suspect you Ted?” asked Evan curiously as he shampooed his hair. 

“Not for a moment.” Ted seemed neither proud or ashamed of this. “It confuses me a little that anyone would think that she would. I had orders not to be discovered, so I wasn't.”

The others nodded. This made perfect sense to them. Orders were orders and never to be disobeyed. Evan let the water flow over his head. “I know they were worried you might be caught out.”

“They can worry less now.” Randy looked over at Ted and winked. “You showed 'em how good we all are.” Although his plan had been to catch up with John, he really wanted to hear about what had happened – and John would be safe with Cody, right?

He couldn't really take that chance. Reluctantly he began hurrying himself up. 

“Hey,” said Justin suddenly. “Have any of you noticed our handlers seem to have gotten – well, tenser recently?”

Three pairs of curious eyes gazed at him and Randy spoke for all of them. “What makes you ask that?”

“It's mostly Wade. He isn't nearly as relaxed as he used to be and he's evasive. And then I thought about it and realised that John seems to be carrying the weight of the world sometimes and Chris sometimes looks like he's really deep in thought about something or other. Cody's harder to tell because he's got stress from last night, but out of all of them he's the only one who seems to have actually relaxed lately.”

Ted remained impassive. “We've gotten accustomed to one another faster than the rest of you maybe. Think about it; we're closer in age than you and Chris, Ev, and maybe that makes a difference. Wade's used to being buried in some book and he hasn't had to share his space since he left England's army. And John's so serious about his job, he's probably being hard on himself.”

The others frowned at these suggestions and Ted felt a little bad about using it to deflect attention from his own relationship. But there was no way he was jeopardising what he and Cody had by telling them the real reason Cody had calmed himself lately. 

“We'll all just have to think about how to make things simpler for them all,” said Randy slowly. “And show them that we're damned good at what we do, they don't need to worry about it.”

“I'm not sure that's all that it is,” said Justin, rather frustrated. “Don't you think that well...” He shook his head, not wanting to be the first one to say it. “I think our handlers are well suited to our needs is all.”

“They picked for us for our personalities,” said Evan brightly. 

“That's not quite what I meant.” Justin sighed, rinsing his hair. “Forget it. You're probably right.”

The rest of the shower was conducted in silence as the units considered what Justin had only been able to hint at and the thoughts they had all been having on the same issues. 

~:~

They didn't get to have lunch as expected. When the four units got out of the changing rooms, they found that John and Cody were back with the coffee but Christian was waiting there chatting to Alex. When he saw them, he gave a wide grin. “Been expecting you. Alberto wants a word with all eight of you, probably not all at the same time. I've had my session with you pushed back.” He rolled his eyes jocularly. “Come on, I'll accompany you to the top floor, have a word myself and then leave you to it.”

The units of course showed no emotion about this although they had a good idea what it was about – they had been ordered not to let Christian know about the attempts on his life and so they simply did all they knew how to in order to keep him in the dark. The handlers exchanged looks but allowed Christian to escort them to the top floor, where Alberto held court. There was a waiting room where they took seats and a moment later Ricardo was ushered from Alberto's office as Christian went in. He didn't look pleased until he set eyes on Ted, upon which he flushed bright red and seemed slightly hesitant. Everyone pretended to ignore him and after a couple of minutes he slid closer to Ted. 

“Gracias,” he said quietly. “For last night,” he added when Ted looked slightly blank. 

Cody knew just what he was talking about but he didn't like the conclusions that might have been drawn by those with no idea what was being discussed and his eyes narrowed slightly. Ted was his. He had washed the scent of Maryse off the man in the shower the night before, every lingering trace of what had happened before the two of them had slept in the same bed for the first time, Cody listening to Ted's heart beating and thanking a God he wasn't at all sure he believed in for bringing the blonde back to him safely. He didn't like even an inadvertent implication of anyone else being involved. 

“Grassy ass,” replied Ted rather blandly but Cody had to hide a smirk. Ricardo looked suspicious, as if he suspected that fun was being poked at him, and Ted relented. “It was my job Mr Rodriguez, but I'm glad that you're safe.”

“Did you tell Alberto?” asked Cody curiously. 

Ricardo shook his head vehemently. “No, and I would prefer he did not know. That I was unable to protect him from a threat, that would not go down well.”

“He wasn't the target,” Cody pointed out. Ricardo gave a slight shrug, as if it hardly mattered to him that Christian was the target and Ted's eyes narrowed a little, as if not liking the lack of compassion. At that moment though the door to Alberto's office opened and Christian himself walked out, slightly rumpled. 

“He's all yours,” he said, gesturing rather grandly at the door. “Uh, Ricky? Your presence not required, okay?”

Ricardo sniffed at the nickname and pointedly ignored Christian, to which the blonde simply grinned. “I'll see you guys downstairs okay? Cut lunch short or something. You look like you've been putting on a couple of pounds there Randy...”

Randy looked stricken as Christian chuckled and headed over to the elevator. John leant closer as they went to the office. “He's just teasing you. There's not an ounce of fat on you.” 

“I'm more toned than he is,” noted Randy huffily, to John's mild amusement. If this was him with no memory, then the Randy before the bomb must have been the vainest man on the planet. Perhaps he should have been teamed with Cody, who was also a fan of excessive personal grooming... John's smile faded. No, that wasn't a happy thought at all. Cody got Ted and the two seemed pleased with the arrangements. Randy was his.

Alberto's office was grand, as they had expected, a triumph of some designer who had been going for a masculine, imposing look. The pictures on the walls and the artwork around the place would not be imitations and all of them would be worth a small fortune – the exception being the pictures of Alberto and Christian together. There were several and in all of them Alberto looked genuinely happy rather than the smugly superior smile that usually graced his face. 

Not much happened in the meeting that they hadn't been expecting. Alberto asked about their training and how they were coming on, thanked them for their dedication to said training and informed them rather solemnly that this was unlikely to be the last time they faced something like this. Maryse wasn't acting on her own initiative this time after all, but he would continue to work with them and those they trusted to ensure Christian's ongoing safety.

“And speaking of Maryse.” He looked over at Ted. “That was nice work last night. If you need anything at all, you may call it yours.”

Ted looked rather taken aback. He didn't want anything, except for Cody and he already knew he wasn't able to mention that. Alberto saw his hesitation and gave his trademark grin. “You can cash that in any time you wish, you don't have to think of anything right now. And Mr Rhodes, there will be a large bonus for you as well for the excellent job in handling your unit.”

“Uh – thank you,” said Cody cautiously. He felt a little bad in taking it since Ted had been singled out from the start and Wade and Justin had been right there too. But he wasn't about to refuse the money, he could use it and it was probably rude as well. 

“Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with my lawyer in fifteen minutes and I like to be prepared.” Alberto rose and ushered them to the door. The whole thing had taken less than twenty minutes all in all and when they walked out and the door to the office had closed behind them, they all exchanged looks that were slightly amused. Alberto might be the money man and tell them what to do officially, but sometimes he really didn't know exactly how things worked. There was a second door open at the far side of the room and through it they could see Ricardo working at a computer, giving them the occasional rather irritated look when they didn't immediately leave. The reason behind that was because Mike was in the area they dubbed the waiting room, chatting to Alex as they stood a little too close to one another. Apparently they had made up whatever argument they were having the first time the units had seen the two together. 

“Hi,” said John, grinning at the men. “What brings you up here Riley?”

“The only way I get to see my man before about nine tonight,” replied Alex, rolling his eyes. “He works too damned hard--”

Mike elbowed him in the ribs, to which Alex responded with rather bad overacting. “I've got an appointment and since everyone else around here seems to have a shadow, I didn't want to feel left out.”

“You want that we should make ourselves scarce?” asked John. “In case you and your shadow wanna kiss goodbye?”

“We'd already have an audience,” replied Mike, jerking his head in Ricardo's direction. Ricardo gave him a sour look, having apparently heard him and everyone grinned. 

There was a ping that signalled the return of the elevator and curious eyes turned in its direction. The elevator was situated at the far end of a corridor leading to the waiting room, past several other rooms with the doors closed and locked, but since they were the only ones there and Alberto didn't go in for background music in the office, they heard the otherwise unobtrusive sound easily. One of the security guards usually stationed in the foyer stepped out, followed by a man in a somewhat gaudy red-and-white outfit with a cap pulled firmly over his head. 

The security guard lagged behind slightly as the younger man all but bounced into the waiting area. “Pizza delivery for Mr Cage?”

Ricardo shot to his feet, slamming his fist on the table and finding himself largely ignored as John shook his head. “He's not on this floor.”

“He was a while ago,” replied the guard.

“That was a while ago. Now he's somewhere else in the building. Didn't they give you a floor?”

“They don't tell me nothin' dude,” replied the delivery guy.

“Well, Christian should have specified because I've not had lunch yet and if I've gotta sit through a meeting with Alberto I might be waiting hours.” Mike eyed the box in the young man's hands greedily. "It's serendipity. Providence. Mine.”

“You should eat properly,” Alex started. 

“I will. Later.”

“Hey,” said the delivery man. “I still need paid for this.”

“Sure, whatever,” replied Mike cheerily, whipping out his wallet and giving the man a couple of notes. “Keep the change.”

“Sure thing.” The man pulled the bill of his cap slightly and John noticed with amusement that the kid had dyed his hair red and green. And it's not even Christmas he mused to himself. 

Ricardo arrived on the scene just as the guard was escorting the delivery man from the scene and Mike was taking the pizza to the nearby coffee table. He immediately started shouting about security and how pizza delivery was not a reason to have unsanctioned personnel in Alberto's personal space. Mike left the pizza aside, amused to watch as the security guard mumbled excuses and hurried for the elevator with the delivery man. Probably he thought that he was safe when he got there, but Ricardo actually got into the lift with him, still berating him as the doors closed. 

Chris looked amused. “Poor guy, listening to him bitching all the way to the ground.”

“Speaking of the ground, we're supposed to be there,” said John. “And it'll take forever to get the elevator back. Stairs?”

“Stairs,” agreed Chris with a roll of his eyes. “That or Ricardo? Exercise, every time.”

“No one wants to share my pizza?” asked Mike. 

“Don't open that thing in front of me,” ordered Alex.

“Oh, you know you just don't want me to in case you go all caveman and eat it all.” Mike smirked at his lover. 

“Just don't get it all over your suit.” Alex gave Mike a quick kiss on the lips and looked at the others. “I'll go down with you. But I hope you realise just how many floors it really is. First man to get out of breath gets extra training tomorrow.”

“Doesn't this count as extra training?” asked Evan hopefully. 

“No. Now move!”

“Bloody slavedriver,” mumbled Justin, getting a burst of laughter from John, Chris and Cody. Clearly he had picked up on the speech patterns of the person closest to him. Justin himself looked slightly bemused, as if not realising what he was saying. 

They started down the stairs, John going first with Randy as always close behind him, Alex at the very back. In spite of his threats, he didn't make them run down the stairs and although they weren't slow, they went at a steady pace. Alex hadn't been lying about how many stairs it was to the bottom floor but all of them were used to this kind of thing. It wasn't much of a deal and they joked and chatted between the group as they descended. 

They hadn't gone more than two floors when there was a sudden loud crash that seemed to come from all around them. The floor shuddered and everyone braced themselves in an attempt to keep upright. The noise from upstairs after the initial crash had given way to an ominous rumbling that seemed to be growing louder and with less than six seconds from the original sound, dust and plaster started falling around them. 

John had barely had time to come to grips with the fact there was something happening when strong arms wrapped around him and he was dropped to the floor, a body covering his entirely. He didn't need to look to know it was Randy and in spite of the situation he spent a split-second appreciating the sensation of the other man so close. But the thought was shoved away by a self-preservation instinct; he couldn't just lie there and let Randy protect him--

Randy it seemed had other ideas. When John tried to push the other man off, Randy wasn't going anywhere although he realised that the man atop him had at least lifted his head. “Okay?”

“Okay,” came back three voices, plus a couple of muffled sounds that might have been another three men winded from the weight of their would-be protectors lying on them. 

“Sit-rep,” barked Randy authoritatively. It was the strained but confident voice of a man used to being in command and John found that he wanted to respond to that in a number of different ways. The longer he was pinned down however, the more he was giving way to irritation. He wasn't some weak and feeble civilian, he had been in the army too. 

“Explosion,” replied Ted's voice from somewhere nearby. “Sounds like it came from the top floor. Stairs aren't secure enough, cracks in the walls and loss of stability. We gotta get our boys downstairs.”

“Amen to that.” Randy leaned up slightly, giving John a little air and that was the moments the lights died. The stairs were internal, intended for use in emergency or just to go between a couple of floors and suddenly they were in almost-darkness, the faint light they had coming from the windows that led into the offices they passed, high up and small and intended to be decorative rather than useful. 

John used the distraction to shove Randy off him, not that Randy wanted to get up until he was sure it was safe to. But John was pretty sure and used to holding his own in bad situations. “Randy, let me up! I'm fine and we need to assess things.”

“I've assessed it already,” replied Randy, barely visible in the dark but John just bet his eyes held that same look he got when he was shooting at something on the range, intense concentration and an unstoppability that couldn't be argued with. “This area is unsafe and my primary goal is to protect you.”

John shook his head, then remembered that Randy might not make out the gesture. “No, we're fine and the building's tough, it's not gonna fall down any time soon.” He pushed all the nasty images he'd gotten from the History Channel out of his head, this was something entirely different to what he'd seen then. “If there's really been an explosion then there are people up there who might need our help.”

“My primary goal is to protect you,” repeated Randy, as if he was talking to an idiot.

“Screw your primary goal. I don't need to be protected right now but there's people up there still. We're going to see if we can help and that is an order.”

There was a sudden flicker and John looked up in surprise as there was light, of a sort. The back-up lights, a necessity for the stairway of a building this size, had started up, less powerful than the main lights and casting a slightly blueish tinge over them all. In the light Randy looked confused, conflicted, uncertain and John's heart went out to him. His two main driving forces, to protect John and to obey him, had just come into direct opposition and now he needed a moment to work out which won. 

John didn't give him a moment, knowing that pushing his own agenda depended on him winning Randy over otherwise the unit would simply carry him out over his shoulder if he had to and to hell with anyone else. He rested his hand on Randy's cheek a moment to draw Randy's gaze to him, meeting stormy blue orbs straight on. “I am just fine. The danger is over here but there's the men upstairs to think about. We need to go after them.”

Randy nodded slowly and John felt like cheering. Instead he grinned and patted Randy's shoulder. “Good man. How're the rest of you?”

There were assorted mumbles as the units allowed their handlers to get up again. Chris pulled himself up on his hands, looking worriedly at John. “Alex is gone.”

“Gone?” John did the calculations quickly. “Oh shit, Mike was up there!”

“We've got potentially three people up there. Alberto, Mike and Alex. We can assume that Alex is on his feet, no idea about the rest.” Chris got to his feet, the cue for everyone else to do the same. “Let's move.”

They started back up the stairs in spite of the instinct that told the to run for the exits. “What the hell exploded?” asked Cody, sounding bewildered and John reminded himself that Cody had never actually seen active conflict. 

“Someone had to have brought something in and I'm putting my money on the pizza man,” he replied, hurrying as much as he could from the rear of the group. Luckily they were all going quite fast, if cautiously. 

“Rigging a pizza?” Chris shook his head. “That's cold. I might never eat take-out again.”

John knew it was a way of coping for the man, but right then he just wished that Chris would shut up. He hadn't felt so far from joking about in his life. But he said nothing, thinking things were just too tense to start arguing among themselves. Not with the units around if things got a bit heated. He had no way of knowing what kind of adrenaline they had but he already knew that their senses were on high alert and they would go all-out to protect their handlers no matter who it was from. 

The higher they got, the more aware they became of the smoke lingering in the air, growing thicker as they got closer to their goal. Reaching down, Ted tore a strip from his shirt and handed it to Cody to cover his mouth and nose with, the cue for all other units to do the same. John might have found it amusing under other circumstances, none of them wanting to be outdone. Cody looked back at him a moment. “Someone'll have stopped the guy, right?”

“The building's gonna be in turmoil downstairs,” said John shortly. He could hear a few faint screams from lower down the staircase and in honesty, he had expected nothing else. They may be out of the way this high up and on the stairs, but he didn't have to see to know there would be pandemonium throughout the building. “If he hadn't reached the ground floor, the lift will have stopped between floors. There's a maintenance entrance, a hatch in the ceiling. He'll just open it, climb out, force the doors to the floor above and blend in with everyone else running away. No one's gonna know to stop him except maybe the guard or Ricardo and they probably can't. Or won't, given it might harm their own escapes.”

“It doesn't matter who he is,” said Chris. “Deal with it la--”

“WADE!”

Justin reached out and grabbed Wade's hand tightly when he heard the shout. It had been against his better judgement to let Wade go back up here and indeed, when he had borne Wade to the ground he had heard some mumbling about how the noise had better not have come from his lab. He would have preferred to let Wade check the lab rather than this, he knew the explosion hadn't come from there. Now there was someone above calling for Wade and he didn't care who it was, Wade wasn't going anywhere. 

“WADE PLEASE!”

“That's Alex,” said John quietly and then raised his voice. “He's with us Alex, where are you?”

Justin didn't let go of Wade's hand. It didn't matter who it was or what the problem was, Wade stayed by his side, end of discussion. 

A moment later they saw Alex stagger around the corner the stairs took to get to the top floor, dirty marks on his face from the smoke. There was someone in his arms and John's heart sank. He didn't have to look to guess who – but the blue lights didn't hide the blood. 

“Wade...” Alex coughed harshly a couple of times. “You have to help him...”

He raised the figure in his arms slightly, like an offering and Wade pulled his hand from Justin's with an effort that he barely noticed to get to the man before them. He was used to bad situations from his time in the army but this was where his mind really started blocking out the unnecessary, focusing on what needed to be done. 

His initial glance told him that there was a lot that needed to be done. The only good thing seemed to be that the bomb hadn't gone off in his face and Wade guessed that the lawyer had been thrown across the room by the blast, protecting him a little from the fall-out. That was all the good news there was. Mike's arm was all but hanging off, placed gently across his chest to stop that by Alex presumably, Mike was in no kind of condition to move himself. The left side of his face had been shredded by something, perhaps the initial blast. The suit he had been wearing was almost totally torn away on that side of his body, exposing massive trauma. There were deep wounds, the glistening of a shockingly white bone poking through the skin of his leg, burns on every piece of skin he could see. 

Wade met Alex's pleading eyes as he reached to Mike's neck and took a pulse, almost startled when he actually found one. He raised his other hand for silence, then checked against his watch. The pulse was weak, fluttery and uneven but it was there. And that was enough for him. 

“Get him in my lab, now.” Wade looked over at John. “You, carry him. You're strongest. Randy, help him out in case it's too much, we've got a few floors to clear and we need it done in a hurry. Justin, I need you.”

Justin had been waiting a long time to hear those words even if these weren't the best circumstances to hear them in. “What should I do?”

“You've got steady hands, I'm gonna need you to help me in a few places. The rest of the team's probably gone as soon as they secure any specimens and I can't do this all alone. I need people to hold flashlights in case the emergency lighting isn't enough, and it won't be. Who knows anything about generators?”

“Me,” replied Ted immediately.

“You're needed too then. Let's go—”

“Wait,” said John as he took Mike's limp form from Alex, trying not to jolt the lawyer further. Alex didn't seem too willing to let him go and John didn't blame him. “What about 'Berto?”

“Shit,” hissed Chris. “You see him Alex?”

Alex didn't even seem to hear, simply staring at Mike and reaching out to brush strands of his hair away. Chris growled slightly. Not that he didn't feel for Alex, but they didn't have the time for sympathy. “Alex!”

“Huh?”

“What's it like up there? Where's 'Berto?”

Alex frowned as if trying to remember. “It's smoky, everything's messed up. Alberto's not there and Mike is against the other wall...” He swallowed. “The furniture is all over and the air's really dark. And all the windows are cracked, at least half of them gone I'd say. I didn't stick around to count.”

“Right.” Chris took a breath, thanking god for Alex's forced calm in spite of everything. Hysterics would only hinder them and he seemed to know it. “One man in there. Who's going?”

“Evan,” said Wade before anyone could interrupt.

Chris whipped his head around. “Excuse me?”

“There's smoke and a lot of wind this high up with no windows. His tear ducts aren't as functional, his eyes are better and he's small enough to get past anything that might hinder him.”

“Good point.” John started down the stairs with Mike in his arms. “Chris, we don't have time to argue this. Move.”

“I should stay with--”

“We need you in the lab,” snapped John.

“You should go to the lab,” added Evan. “Safer there. But I need to go with you and make sure you get there safely.”

“I'll take over his safety,” said Randy. “Hurry back, okay?”

Chris looked for a moment like he would protest this and then sighed abruptly. “Don't linger Ev. Just grab him and get out. You know where the lab is?”

“I know.” Evan took a step up the stairs, turned and suddenly put his hands on either side of Chris's face, planting a kiss directly on his lips. It was a exuberant, almost theatrical gesture but when it was done with Chris was actually grinning and Evan looked oddly pleased with himself. He gave Chris a wink and a quick salute and then ran around the corner, toward Alberto's office. 

“I didn't know things were like that between you two!” Cody sounded oddly accusing.

“They're not—”

“Doesn't matter now.” Wade glared at the others. “I need this man in my lab now if we're going to have any chance at all with him. Hurry it up. I need to operate.”

~:~

It was even more harrowing on some level than what he had witnessed when he had seen Ted and the others being brought in, Cody thought to himself as he entered the lab with Alex, an arm around the man’s middle as it seemed his legs were going to give out any moment. Not that Cody would have blamed him; what he had witnessed regarding his lover would be enough to send someone straight to the men in white jackets. Hell, Cody was almost there the other night and Ted hadn’t had so much as a hair out of place after his mission. “Alex,” he murmured quietly, he and the other man remaining behind the glass observatory wall whereas Wade and the others were down on the floor. Well, almost all of them--- Ted had just been sent off somewhere into an adjoining room by Wade.

Cody tensed slightly when he saw Ted heading off but then forced himself to calm down--- Ted had to do whatever he had to do to help Wade. John and Randy gently laid Mike’s unmoving body on the operating table and Alex moaned lowly, seeming to get paler than he had been previously. The hallway lights had been enough to provide light to see what had happened to him, but somehow the eerie glow of the flashlights in the otherwise dingy room seemed to make it all the worse. Knowing he couldn’t say anything that would make the moment better Cody merely squeezed Alex’s shoulder gently in a showing of support. Wade was briskly washing his hands, instructing Chris and Justin both to do the same. Cody wondered exactly what Chris would be able to do medically speaking anyway.

Wade was sans scrubs but he had managed to find gloves. It crossed Cody’s mind that he should point out to Wade that carrying out surgery in his own clothing was a bad idea, but then he supposed they really didn’t have time for honouring the small details right then; it was enough that Wade had at least managed to wash his hands. Just as Wade seemed to be lifting a scalpel (and Alex moaned again) the lights flickered overhead before then rising to the same almost painfully bright light Wade had operated under when he had been putting their boys back together. Ted stepped out of the room he had vanished into, nodded and murmured something they couldn’t hear to Wade before vacating the area. Randy hesitated before then following suit since he wouldn’t be needed.

John remained where he was, though Cody didn’t miss the significant look that passed between the two men, and despite the seriousness of the situation and the selfishness of his own thoughts the younger man couldn’t help but thinking that it seemed like he and Ted weren’t the only ones hiding something. As Randy approached Cody sent him a weak smile, his eyes landing on Ted’s. Ted’s face was as serious as Randy’s but their sympathy for Alex and Mike was apparent. And, if Cody wasn’t mistaken, there was a light of personal fury too and in that moment Cody realised something: their boys wouldn’t let this slight pass, whether they were ordered to exact revenge when they discovered the culprit or not. Even as he thought that something else occurred to him like a lightning bolt shock.

Mike was essentially going to be another one of their boys, he was going to be the same if not conditioned for fighting and operations such as they carried out (begun to carry out, details, details). “Alex—“Cody wasn’t sure if Alex had truly understood the implication of what this was going to mean. He might understand how to deal with their boys on some level, but living with his lover, having to most probably teach Mike all of the basics of their life together all over again, well... it would be enough to make anyone think twice, and no-one could blame him for being a little hesitant over the fact. Alex didn’t move, eyes fixated on the illuminated room where Wade was working feverishly to bring Mike back. “ALEX,” Cody repeated and this time he gained the dazed man’s partial attention.

And then he wished he hadn’t. Alex hadn’t been making any other noise when he had been sat beside him but the tears were falling thick and fast from his eyes, soaking his face and making him look even more devastated than he had even when he’d been holding his barely-alive lover’s mutilated body. Hesitation flooded through Cody then, causing his throat to close up and his voice to die out; Alex needed to know about the ramifications of what was going to happen if Wade could save Mike (when he saved Mike, when) but at the same time he didn’t want to upset the man. When a hand rested on his shoulder suddenly Cody almost jumped, but he took comfort in the strong, sure hand, leaning back into Ted slightly as subtly as he could when the blonde man moved to stand near him.

Randy was leaning against the wall on the other side of Alex, eyes flickering from between what was happening down in the operating theatre (and most likely John) and the distraught Alex. “Um…” Cody gulped slightly; he could talk crap until the cows came home and blagged his way out of many a situation, but suddenly words failed him. Gathering his courage and drawing strength from the subtle yet open gesture of Ted gently kneading his shoulder Cody murmured. “You do know he’s… He won’t be as flesh and muscle as he was before.” Saying not human left an uncomfortable feeling in his mouth and he didn’t want to accidentally offend any of the men he was currently seated with. Alex’s head dropped towards his chest and for one terrifying moment Cody thought the man had fainted.

What had happened to Mike was absolutely heart-wrenching but seeing Alex crumbling like he was… that was almost as hard to witness. Though he couldn’t say he’d ever doubted the feelings between the two men, if he had he would know in that moment that Alex Riley was completely and irrevocably in love with Michael Mizanin. “I know,” Alex’s voice was barely audible, even in the otherwise silent conservatory, and Cody strained to hear him, something even Randy and Ted had to do--- and that was saying something. “I know that he won’t be the way he was, but I don’t care.” He looked up then and his soaking wet face although still crumbled with fear on his lover’s behalf, was now tense with determination. “But I don’t care,” the words seemed to reverberate in the enclosed space they sat in.

Before Cody could say anything to try and diffuse Alex’s sudden temper (and he was pretty sure he’d read somewhere that grief could be expressed not only in abject sadness but in fierce rage too) the brunette continued, “You don’t care that Ted isn’t completely the same as he was, right?” Cody froze then, aware of Ted’s hand going as still as a statue on his shoulder, frozen mid-massage. Cody fervently prayed that Ted didn’t take anything Alex might say to heart; he and Ted had never discussed his past, both because Cody knew that could trip the therapy into some negative effect, and also because Ted had never once expressed a wish to know about who he had been. “John doesn’t care that he’s not the same—“he jerked his head backwards, indicating the long, lean form of Randy.

Alex seemed to be in his element now, fairly ranting at speed, “—Wade doesn’t care, and Chris doesn’t care. None of your feelings have been affected about what you do and don’t know about them.” Cody wasn’t sure whether he wanted to just try hugging Alex to see if a little contact would help or curse because the other’s mouth was running into territory where they really could have done with it staying out of. In one abrupt movement Alex was out of his chair and up against the observatory window. Cody could see his hands were blackened and cut, as though he had been raking through some rubble or something in order to get to Mike. And given that they hadn’t known the state of the room after the bomb had gone off there was every chance that that could have been the case.

“I don’t care what he comes back like as long as he comes back,” Alex’s fingers tensed against the glass and Cody was helpless but to watch, hesitating a moment before he too stood up and moved up beside Alex. Although, considering how queasy he had been when he had first watched Wade’s constructive process he wasn’t too sure that that was a good idea. “Mike will be Mike. No matter what. As long as his heart’s still in there I know he’ll be my Mikey…” his voice started to waver then and he slowly sank to his knees, burying his face into his hands as his tears started anew. Feeling his own eyes prickle, for he could empathise on some level how Alex felt, Cody knelt down before him and then gently placed an arm around the other’s shoulders. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

Ordinarily Ted’s jealousy would have been roused by seeing Cody sort of embracing another man, but in this instance he understood that Alex needed someone right then--- and realistically Cody was the only one there. He and Randy wouldn’t be too good with the comforting bit because their compassion, although present, had been significantly deadened when they had gone through their conditioning after surgery. Stepping back to lean against the wall besides Randy, Ted grimaced slightly as he watched Wade carefully starting to stitch Mike’s arm back on. He hadn’t seen what had been done to it, but given the extent of its damage Ted wouldn’t have been at all surprised to know that that arm wasn’t the same arm at all, but that it was one of the same flesh/muscle/artery substitutes they four had.

Wade’s brow was shining with sweat underneath the harsh lights, his mouth compressed into a thin line as he concentrated. Justin gently wiped his brow with a cloth and Wade’s eyes went to him for mere seconds in acknowledgement before he went to his task. Even Justin looked pale underneath his naturally darker skin and Chris looked fairly green although he wasn’t faltering when it came to handing Wade whatever implements he wanted at any given time. The moment Wade began to start fairly siphoning the ruined skin from Mike’s face though, exposing the mass of human structure underneath the surface, even Randy had to look away for a moment. “Maybe we should get him out of here,” Randy muttered, indicating where Alex was still kneeling on the floor with Cody beside him.

Ted could see where Randy was coming from in his comment (he couldn’t even imagine how he’d feel if he was standing there watching that happen to Cody, whether it was for the sake of his very life or not) but at the same time he decided to merely answer as he honestly felt, “I don’t think Alex would let us take him away even if he really wanted to leave,” the blonde murmured. Randy’s lips pinched slightly but then his shoulders slumped; it seemed even he couldn’t find a way to argue with Ted’s reasoning. “Maybe if we knocked him out… he wouldn’t know what was going on then would he?” the two men exchanged ghosts of a smile, but as soon as the expressions settled they were gone again. “I think we should just leave him be this time around,” their trainer was emotional enough as it was.

Silence fell between the two men then and it continued as they remained watching, not knowing how much time passed or even what was happening outside of the lab. Steadily but surely Wade worked on bringing Mike back to his lover, friends/colleagues, and all they could do was watch. The waiting had to be the hardest but, because although Wade was still working that didn’t exactly mean much… Ted had had that slightly morbid thought that even if they happened to lose Mike during the surgery then there was every chance that Wade would put him back together again so that it would be… easier one those he had left behind when they buried him. At least, Ted assumed that Mike still had his family, but if he didn’t then the odd kindness would just be for his distraught lover’s sake alone.

~::~

Even with his techno-special eyes it was still fucking hard to see up here! Evan ground his teeth together as he gently squeezed through several large chunks of ceiling plaster that had fallen several feet up the hallway he and his friends had been laughing and joking in not maybe ten minutes before. It was terrifying to think how little time it took to change everything. Dropping down to the ground to avoid some of the thick black smoke still coming from the office he was heading towards, Evan coughed briefly before starting to crawl forwards at an impressively brisk pace. When he reached the waiting area they had been seated in previously, where that damned bomb-pizza had been delivered to, his stomach dropped and for a moment he felt that he might be physically sick at the sight of it.

The chairs had been ruined, half of the windows put out but even so they seemed to be doing nothing for the smoke still lingering. Massing scorch marks marred the walls, and there were several mutilated chunks that Evan sincerely hoped were furniture and not… something else. “Alberto!” he called, waited a moment and then called again, “Mr Del Rio sir! Can you hear me?” crackling of destroyed electrics greeted him, along with the odd ominous creak of the ceiling overhead. Evan mentally prayed that that wasn’t going to come down at least until he had found Alberto and gotten out of there. There was a sudden weak cht-pft sound and the sprinkler system overhead started. Scowling a little despite the usefulness of the item, Evan continued to crawl along the floor, looking.

One of the doors to Alberto’s office had been blasted off of its hinges--- and they weren’t your small bog-standard office doors. The other had a huge chunk ripped out of it, as though it had been at an angle when the blast had occurred. Following his instincts and knowing that it was most likely where Alberto (or, even his body, if that was the unfortunate ending to this terrible incident) was going to be. As he drew closer though Evan’s adrenaline spiked; he could hear weak coughing from inside. “Mr Del Rio!” he called again, “It’s Evan sir, are you OK?” some more coughing came, weak and rasping, and then a hoarse, “Si!” sounded. Pushing himself to his feet slowly Evan ripped two sections of fabric from the shirt he was wearing, pressing one over his mouth and nose to prevent inhalation of smoke.

Alberto was laid several feet from the door, thrown off to one side. There was a nasty looking gash down his side, his nose was bleeding and his face bruised--- Evan now realised what must have happened to cause the door to be broken as it was; Alberto had obviously started to open it just as the blast went off, and the wood deflected most of the impact although the section of the door that had been blown free had seemingly slashed his ribs. He was lucky he hadn’t been impaled on the thing. Crouching down by the coughing, rumpled man, Evan muttered lowly, “Can you walk sir or shall I carry you?” Alberto merely grasped the offered hand and dragged himself to his feet, allowing Evan to cover his mouth with the other swatch of his shirt fabric without complaint as they started moving.

Despite the man clearly attempting to salvage some pride or something by attempting to move under his own power he had little choice but to allow Evan to support him. He couldn’t claim that he was a doctor, but from the look of thing Alberto’s wounds were mostly superficial. “What… Happened?” Alberto coughed and Evan wondered whether he should answer or wait. It was only the remembrance of what had happened to Mike that had had him answering as best he could; he didn’t want Del Rio disrupting Wade or the others before they had managed to do something for Mike. “A pizza boy came up with a delivery for Christian not long after we left. Ricardo and the guard left with him, and we were all going down the stairs with Alex since they had the lift… Mike Mizanin accepted the pizza.”

Now, to an outsider this sentence wouldn’t have seemed very dangerous, but Alberto could clearly put two and two together despite the fact that he was probably hazy with a potential concussion and whatever smoke he had inhaled before Evan had rescued him, given the violent if still a bit weak stream of Spanish he growled. Just as they reached the stairs (risky though they were the lift would be even worse if it was even working since the electricity didn’t seem to be one-hundred percent yet) it occurred to the younger man that he hadn’t asked Alberto if there had been anyone else left upstairs as he knew, even though Evan hadn’t detected any other evidences of life or people when he had been looking around. However, when he did ask the Mexican was quick to insist that there wasn’t.

Accepting the man’s word Evan slowly worked them down to where the lab was, and then continued; he needed to get Alberto down to a safe level and then as soon as he had the man passed off to people who could take care of him he would go back to the lab and let the others know that he had managed to find their boss and that he had no other casualties to report to any of them. And he could see if they had managed to put poor Mike back together again. When they got down nearer to the fifth floor and below there didn’t appear to be any structural damage. When they hit the foyer it was deserted, the building undoubtedly having been cleared by security when they realised that something had been happening that definitely wasn’t standard procedure even for their businesses.

The trek across the large reception area to the outside seemed to take forever, but Evan never once rushed Alberto or made any sort of comment. Even as he hobbled along, an arm wrapped over the throbbing, bleeding ribs, Alberto knew that he owed this one as much as he did Ted. Glancing at Evan out of the corner of his eyes he was shocked to see that although he had some smudges of dirt on his face and some grime on his clothing he didn’t appear to be struggling to breathe, or even had red eyes. Alberto knew that he looked a mess, and although the fact that he was lucky to be alive registered with him he was dreading the thought of being seen by his employees when he was in this vulnerable a state. After the dingy smokiness of his now ruined office the fresh air and sunlight stung.

Hissing between his teeth Alberto gingerly lifted his arm from his ribs and shielded his eyes against the light, seeing that most of the space outside of the building was covered by his employees and numerous vehicles that appeared to be fire-department and ambulances… Alberto would bet that they hadn’t been sent by the local mayor and that they were probably from their in-house connection resources. Evan extended a hand and indicated, and two paramedics rushed forward. However, they weren’t the only ones who did. “Alberto!” Christian looked as though he had somehow aged ten years in fear Ricardo hot on his heels and also looking as though he had seen a ghost. Alberto managed a weak, painful smile, but the relief in his eyes was apparent. Christian’s safety was still most important.

“Am I OK to leave you now sir?” Evan murmured quietly, Christian and Ricardo too busy attempting to push Alberto onto a stretcher that had been brought over to acknowledge him too much. Not that Evan minded; he hadn’t been back there to save the man for the praise after all. “I think they need me inside,” he added and Alberto shushed both Ricardo and Christian a moment to meet Evan’s eyes. Nodding, the Mexican then rasped, “There are only yourselves and Riley and Mizanin inside yes?” Evan nodded and Alberto dismissed him with a nod, though Evan could read the gratitude in his eyes. Ignoring the security guy that shouted at him to back off (Alberto would tell them to just ignore their presences in their sweeps and such) and headed back. Once he reached the foyer he started to run.

As Evan vanished inside Alberto groaned and sank back onto the stretcher. His stomach and side were killing, and all he could taste still was smoke and blood--- though he knew that had Evan not found him then it would have been much worse by the time their rescue efforts would have realised what was happening enough to come and help him. It wasn’t as though Alberto expected his life to be prioritised over those of his employees or anything, but he knew that he would have been the last one they would have reached because they wouldn’t have come inside until they were sure the building had been initially swept… or they might have completely not realised he was there at all, believing that he had been in a meeting if they hadn’t have found Christian or Ricardo anywhere.

“Berto,” Christian whispered, looking stricken and a little teary. For once Ricardo wasn’t even giving the man filthy looks for the intimate pet-name or for the way Christian was gripping Alberto’s hand, mumbling to him in strangely hollow Spanish to which Alberto replied in the same clipped tone, but it seemed softer than usual. Several employees called out queries about his wellbeing but Alberto was glad that someone else immediately fielded them and he was loaded into the back of the ambulance that was waiting nearby. Ricardo wasn’t able to join them but Alberto knew he would stay behind, monitor the situation and then follow them along to the hospital. Didn’t mean he wasn’t happy about being left behind, but right then that was the least of the Mexican’s worries after everything that day.

“What the fuck happened?” Christian asked numbly the second the ambulance began moving when the doors were securely shut, the paramedic hooking Alberto up to several drip type machines not even flinching at the language used before him. Ordinarily Christian didn’t swear in front of strangers but in this instance Alberto couldn’t exactly comment about uncouth behaviour or anything like that. Alberto sighed softly and closed his eyes, waiting until the paramedic had finished administering the painkillers and cleaning most of the blood from his face before he opened his eyes again and offered a weak smile. Christian started speaking again before he could think of a way to answer, and as soon as he heard the question he knew that he was stuck with only one way of responding: the simple truth.

“Christian…” the fact that he was going to disclose this information, thus ending Christian’s predominant obliviousness about recent events, hurt more than the pair that was currently being numbed out by the medicinal painkillers. “Someone attempted to kill you today. The bomb that was set off in my office… It was brought for you,” his brow furrowed a moment, trying to remember what it was Evan said had happened although his head was beginning to feel heavy and he had the strongest urge to just close his eyes and go to sleep. “Someone sent a pizza to my office… and the pizza was somehow rigged.” Even as he said it he knew it sounded ridiculous. Had they come to him and ever suggested using such tactics for something they wanted Alberto would most likely have slapped them.

“I’m just glad that you’re safe, my Chihuahua,” he murmured, squeezing Christian’s hand briefly as he stifled a yawn best he could with the other. Christian’s mouth was pinched and his jaw working, as though he wanted to lose his temper somehow but couldn’t bring himself to do it because of the way Alberto was. Alberto meant it though; he would gladly die a thousand deaths if he knew that his lover was going to be safe at the end of it. As sleep finally succeeded in wrestling him into submission the last thing Alberto saw was Christian laying his head upon his shoulder from how he sat next to him, the blonde muttering something that he found he couldn’t quite hear around the low buzzing in his ears, but he recognised the movement of his lips: I love you. He’d never been gladder to hear it.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Out Of Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys work on damage control and Wade continues his attempts to save Mike's life. Afterwards, Randy lets John know exactly how he felt about being ignored during the blast.
> 
> ((Some strong language in this chapter))

When the door flew open so hard that it smashed off of the opposite wall Laurinitus knew that he was in trouble. When his furious business-partner stalked into the room, looking bigger than he did normally if that made sense, he knew that he wasn’t going to be going home at usual office-ending hours. Vickie was wide-eyed as she hovered in the door, Laurinitus barely able to get, “Just go home—“out of his mouth before the door was slammed on her. When JBL locked it for good measure afterwards Laurinitus felt his stomach dropping. Age-wise he and the other man were similar and height-wise JBL only had a few inches on him, but he wasn’t stupid enough to think that he would be able to beat the other in a straight-forward fight. JBL had more experience in that area than he did.

“John—“he started, hoping that he could somehow segue the other (because if he was in this kind of mood then he had to have known what had taken place around lunchtime that day) but the moment his mouth opened JBL’s hand flew. The crack of the slap was more painful than the last one he had been given… and recently he seemed to have been getting slapped a lot. The blow sent Laurinitus to the floor, and he knew that should Vickie still be outside then she would undoubtedly know what was happening… or hopefully have enough of her brain to suspect. However, even as he thought that he knew that no matter whether she knew or not it wasn’t as though she’d be able to do anything about it; getting the police involved was definitely not an option and she should know that at that stage.

A punch was landed and Laurinitus felt something in his nose just give, blinding pain searing the middle of his forehead and through the rest of his head as the sickly coppery tang of blood filled the back of his throat as quickly as it started to flood down his face. Bringing his hands up he shoved at JBL’s chest, feeling an unaccountable amount of fear as he realised that he had never seen the other man this pissed before. Maybe he should have mentioned what he had been intending to do… but he had known that the other would say! And the faster they struck the better a chance they had. And, yes, he had been more concerned about protecting his own hide than he had about being concerned about anything else that could potentially go wrong if things happened to either succeed or fail.

Why would they have failed? He wouldn’t fail, he never had before. And his track record was much more advanced than Maryse’s had been. The thoughts flew into his mind all at once, a jumbled cacophony in his head that he had little doubt was probably only so painful and chaotic because of the blow he had just taken. Although the expression on JBL’s face didn’t ease he did get off of Laurinitus and lowered his hand, allowing Laurinitus to sit up. The man coughed and spluttered, creating unattractive blood-spatter on the front of his shirt and the dark coloured carpet underfoot. Hopefully no one would notice as long as the carpet got a good cleaning later on. Cupping his nose with one hand Laurinitus dazedly scrambled for the box of tissues on his desk and seized a handful.

Pressing the wad up underneath his nose he whimpered involuntarily; if his nose wasn’t broken it was definitely bruised as fuck. “Damn John!” he groused, his voice coming out hoarse and nasal, not doing anything to help Laurinitus’ dignity or appearance any further than the blood and rumpled suit did. “What the hell?” he demanded, wondering whether he could somehow play dumb. Just because their man was into elaborate, slightly psychotic things like rigging pizzas with bombs didn’t mean automatically that he was the one who had done that to Del Rio’s building. JBL knew as well as he did that he had lots of enemies and as such any one of them could have gone for him or his boyfriend… Or maybe he was mad about something else? If that was the case he had no idea at all.

“You fucking cunt,” JBL snarled and Laurinitus reeled as though he had been struck again; for all JBL was no stranger to bad-language he was pretty certain that in all the time he had known the man he had never heard him use that particular word before. “I—I—“he sputtered, spitting some more blood from his mouth into the wastepaper bin nearby and hoping that the slowing of that in his mouth meant that the blood-flow was stopping in his nose too. JBL’s hand slashed through the air violently and Laurinitus shut up--- even he, a top-class shit-stirrer, wasn’t stupid enough to poke a grouchy bear, especially not when that grouchy bear could have him in prison in a heart-beat if he felt like it. “What. Did. You. Do?” the words were harsh, snarled, and JBL’s whole face twisted along with them.

Moving behind his desk in the hopes that maybe he could somehow use the distance to prevent JBL from putting his hands on him again Laurinitus tried to square himself up to his full height and tried to level his voice some more to something that sounded more like normal. “I didn’t do anything that we,” he was very careful to stress that particular reminder that he was not the only one who would be implicated if anyone found out about where the assassination hit had come from, “—hadn’t already discussed before. The opportunity was there so I took it,” he shrugged, “Why are you so angry?” he tried to smile, although the action was painful, and eased the wad of blood-stained tissue from his face to gently prod at his nose, wincing and hissing out a curse as it flared painfully in response.

The sensation of one of the wooden shelves that lined the wall of his office smashing into the back of his head caused the blood-flow and headache to increase once more, although mercifully his nose wasn’t bleeding as badly as it had been. “Why am I angry?” JBL spat, spittle landing on Laurinitus’ face and making him try to inch back even though he clearly had nowhere to go as pinned as he was between the man’s body and the equally uncomfortable and unrelenting body. If Vickie were to walk in now… Well, Laurinitus didn’t like to speculate as to what thoughts might go through that gossip’s mind, and that would most likely be all over the office before they had even clocked in the following day. JBL looked as though he was about to burst all of his blood vessels he was so red.

“Why? Why? You didn’t kill the queer or Del Rio!” he thundered, causing Laurinitus to momentarily glance towards the door concernedly; his office was sound-proofed to some degree but he wasn’t too sure if it was entirely impenetrable… and at any rate Vickie always seemed to hear things that he’d rather she didn’t. Not that she’d dare ever roll on him or their company; it was because of the generous paycheques she received from him that she could continue to dress twenty-years younger than she was, and drive that flashy car to work that was also more suitable to a woman half her age. The only compliment he could really pay her was that she looked slightly less mutton-dressed-as-lamb on one level because she had lost some considerable weight in the last year and a half.

Whatever blood hadn’t been spilled over the office carpet or his suit, and that wasn’t currently drying nauseatingly on his business-partner’s knuckles, drained out of his face as quickly as water draining out of a bath. “What?” he whispered shakily, the numbness he felt clearly expressed in that single tremulous word. The smile JBL wore was savage and didn’t reach his eyes, making Laurinitus wish he had just stoppered all sense of flattery and ambition he had felt when JBL had first met through their wives at some charity ball and the other man had suggested they take up business together. His desk job may have been a boring monotonous pain in the ass half of the time, but at least he had still been in charge and none of this shit would have followed him, his record would still be flawless.

“You heard me,” JBL shoved away from him, snatching up the crystal bottle of liquor from the nearest cabinet and pouring himself almost a glassful before knocking it back in one movement. He then let the glass fly where it crashed into the fire, causing the flames to momentarily roar and leap into the air; Laurinitus suddenly had the terrifying image of the gates of hell in his mind, but as quickly as that thought was there it was gone, replaced by the certainty that should Del Rio realise that they were responsible for both attempts on his lover then hell would seem like a great idea compared to what he would undoubtedly be made to face. Del Rio may not get his hands dirty but whisper on the grapevine was that should you cross him you would wish that your parents had never ever even met.

“Impossible,” he managed when he had recovered from his shock and the startlement he felt from the glass in the fireplace. Ordinarily he would complain about the damage to his property, demand a replacement, but right then he had other more pressing matters to attend to. “He was the one to handle this, John, it couldn’t have failed!” and it was clear that he still believed that regardless of the information that had been provided to him by the other. JBL snorted and shoved a manila folder across the table at him. Laurinitus blinked slightly, sure that that hadn’t been there when he had first approached his desk earlier in their little altercation that would be forgotten about as soon as they left his office when they had finished their mature and level discussion about that day’s events.

“Well, he has clearly overestimated himself this time, or has lost his edge given how long he’s been out of service!” he shook his head in clear disgust and levelled Laurinitus with a look that made him feel like a child confronted with his disappointed father, “The fact that you just threw him into such a risky move… Are you an idiot? I thought you had more brains in your head than that Johnny!” Laurinitus’ lips morphed into a pout; his ego couldn’t stand it when people patronised him. Technically his ego couldn’t take anything much by way of negativity towards himself, but this sort of thing was what really burned his waffles. “It was a good idea,” was all he could think to say, and even he grimaced slightly at how petulant and juvenile he sounded. It had been a perfect idea in theory.

“You better pray that they can’t trace him back to us,” JBL warned as he started to rub the blood from his knuckles with a tissue from the box on his desk, adjusting his clothing so that he looked his usual spotless self. The man seemed infinitely calmer than he had been when he’d first barrelled into his office but Laurinitus knew that he was a long way from forgiven by the other man. “Of course they can’t!” he insisted, but even as he said it a sinking feeling settled in his stomach; he hadn’t technically gotten a blow-by-blow plan from their guy about what was intended to happen, he’d merely given him a picture of both Del Rio and Christian and instructed him to take out Christian by whatever means he could, and their guy had merely offered him one of those enigmatic smiles, agreeing it’d be easy.

JBL’s look said that he didn’t believe a word he’d said, “Where is he?” Laurinitus’ eyes dropped slightly, clearing his throat (and absently dabbing at his still delicate nose, wondering whether he wanted to risk going to a hospital to see if he really had sustained any permanent damage) before muttering, “He went home.” Given the erratic and dangerous virtuoso that he was Laurinitus was happy to give him whatever perks he demanded as long as he remained onside with them--- and one of those perks, much like being allowed to just sit and paint in his office all day, was that he could go home when he wanted once he had carried out his job. He could roll into work when he wanted as well as long as he was in at the latest by lunchtime. The man was an expensive commodity alright.

~:~

“We're gonna have company soon enough,” said Chris, mostly under his breath, addressing John as he walked out of the room where Wade was working on Mike. Ted had offered to take over his role for the moment, apparently realising tat Chris was a little distracted by wondering about Evan, leaving Cody to be the one comforting Alex. “The fire department are gonna want to secure the building. And if Alberto's injured or – well, he won't be around to bribe them into staying out of here, that's for sure.”

John looked tired, covered in Mike's blood still. “We might get lucky. The explosion was upstairs and I think we're far enough down to have avoided any major damage – the lab seems to have escaped at least. They might not check this room. And it's not like we can rush Wade. This is surgery, not stapling him back together and hoping for the best.”

“I know.” Chris seemed unusually anxious. “I just hope that Ev doesn't bring them down on us.”

“You know him better than that. If anyone sees him come back in, he'll lose them in a hurry. Not so easy to chase speedy up all those stairs, not for someone carrying a ton of breathing equipment.” John hesitated a moment. “And if they do find us, we'll just have to explain we have a severely injured man and a doctor in the house, one with enough equipment to do what he has to – they'll have to buy it. Look at Mike.”

“I'm trying not to look at Mike.” Chris shook his head angrily. “Brings back bad memories. I mean, the first time I saw Evan he didn't have a face. Wade rebuilt what he could from a photo.”

“Man's a miracle worker,” said John softly. “He can get Mike through this. I know it.”

“He doesn't seem to be feeling the same pressure we are,” noted Chris wryly.

“I wouldn't say that. It's just that he can put it aside while he does what he has to. It's no different to being in the field, when you just get on with the job instead of worrying about what might happen--”

“Sorry John. I've always been in intel, not the militia.” Chris sighed. “I get the point though.” He looked over at the door again, then back through the window that let them see Wade working quickly and calmly on Mike. “Where the hell is Ev?”

John shook his head. “Give him time. He has to get Alberto, get him out, back up here – it's gonna take time. He might even have to carry him.” John didn't like to dwell on what might happen if Alberto was as injured as he might be. Christian would be devastated and the whole corporation would be in disarray. And what might become of them? Just because their boys were Alberto's favourite project didn't mean that things would stay the same. The units might be taken from them, put into confinement. Or it might be deemed safer for them all to vanish without a trace.

“What was with him kissing you?” asked John abruptly.

Chris chuckled without much humour. “Evan's demonstrative. A combination of emotion and a joke.”

“You seemed pretty pleased about it.”

Chris shrugged. “It was funny and you know how I get when things are tense.”

“Yeah, I do and that wasn't you being amused. That was you being pleased as punch. I take it he never kissed you before?”

“No. And I'd rather you didn't spread it around this time. With Adam being as damned interested as he has been, we don't need him suggesting we're getting too close to the boys and they might be better off with someone else.”

“After the last couple of days, I think you could be caught in bed with him and Alberto would just shrug it off.”

Chris looked at the ceiling, trying to play it cool even though John was hinting at exactly what he wished was going on with him and Evan. “Maybe. But who says Alberto's gonna be in a condition to make that choice?”

“He was in the office Chris, odds are he's fine.”

“He didn't try to get out.”

“He was probably trying to phone out instead, or yelling for Ricardo to fix everything before his meeting.”

Chris gave a slight laugh, then sobered. “I'm gonna find out who's behind this John. It's pretty obvious that Maryse wasn't the only one after harming Christian. Did you notice anything about the pizza dude? I should have realised something was off but I didn't even think about it...”

“Me either, or the boys. It was so innocent that none of us caught it. And no, I didn't take much notice. Who takes notice of the guy bringing the pizza?” John thought back a moment. “He dyed his hair some strange colour, I remember, red and green. I remember thinking he was early for Christmas.”

“That might help, but half the stoners around have odd hair and it could be any colour at all tomorrow.” Chris shrugged. “It's a start. More than I noticed--”

The sound of the door opening distracted him and he turned, noticing that everyone did the same with the units dropping their hands to whatever concealed weapons they had. But it was just Evan who came through the door, not at all perturbed about the watchers, his eyes searching Chris out. Only then did he actually seem to relax. 

“Thank god,” said Chris with obvious relief. “Alberto?”

“Injured, but it looked pretty superficial. I got him out and into an ambulance.” Evan hesitated. “How's Mike?”

Chris shook his head slowly. “I don't know. I got a pretty close view and honestly...” He lowered his voice, conscious of Alex nearby even if he didn't seem to be listening. “It wasn't pretty. But he was breathing and we all know that Wade's worked apparent miracles before. If he can do the same to Mike as he did – well, I think he might do it. And it's not quite as big a job...” He forced himself to stop. Evan didn't need to hear about what had happened when he was being rebuilt.

Evan nodded, but his worried look remained. “Chris, it's a circus outside. They think no one else is in here but I was seen – I couldn't not be. And there's some staff dealing with press but no one's taking overall control of anything.”

“Where's Ricardo?”

“Following Alberto, I would think. Christian's in the ambulance but he'll be right behind.”

“Damn.” Chris rubbed at his jaw. “Okay, someone needs to be seeing how things go outside. Can you come with me Ev, and perhaps use your comm to keep in touch with Randy? We'll have to keep things in here to ourselves and get some damned crowd control if there's no one doing that.”

“Right.” Evan nodded and went over to Randy, having a quick conversation as they both hit their comms and did a quick check. Chris made a mental note not to say anything that he didn't want Randy to overhear or John to find out.

“Let's get some damage limitation done,” he said wearily – he really didn't want to be doing this, he thought John would probably be better at it but Wade might need help moving Mike or something like that and as strong as both he and Randy were, Chris suspected John was stronger and would be more use if something went wrong. Evan nodded and the two went out into the corridor, not at all surprised when they heard the door lock behind them. 

~:~

Chris did his job of keeping the fire department away from their floor, although he couldn't keep them from checking over the top floors and promising that he would have an independent survey done as to its safety when they determined it wasn't burning and wasn't about to collapse. It was an anxious time for the man though, particularly when he had no business being anywhere near the clean-up op and even more so when some of Alberto's executives showed up and tried throwing their weight around. He might have had to give in to them, except Ricardo returned unexpectedly with Alberto on the other end of his mobile phone. Chris had rather assumed that Ricardo didn't like him and so was surprised when Ricardo put Alberto on speaker and everyone heard his rather tired but determined voice through the device. “Mr Jericho is in charge,” he announced, to the indignation of the executives. “He and his assistant will take care of everything until I return to the office. Which will be as soon as I have had a few stitches.”

Chris had a feeling that Christian would have something to say about that but merely grinned and gave a few orders, mostly to keep the press away and play down reports of sabotage. The strategy seemed to work because the stations were all reporting it as an 'undetermined cause'. 

Once the initial drama was over and there was no sign of fire or further casualties, most people got bored and drifted away. And with no chance to grab a little more kudos or power, the executives went back to bitching into their blackberries. It was just what Chris would have hoped for. 

No one seemed to suspect that the building wasn't empty and that Wade's lab was actually rather crowded. And in any case, most of the crowd had dispersed from outside when Wade finally sighed, laid down his instruments and headed for the little room where the watchers stood, Justin and Ted right behind him. Alex had been crouched in an uncomfortable position on a chair, watching everything, but when he saw Wade approach he got up, tension radiating through his body. 

But when Wade actually walked through the door, Alex seemed to forget how to speak and simply stared at the Brit with questions in his eyes. Wade seemed grim but that didn't have to mean the worst – or so Alex told himself. Those few seconds before Wade started speaking seemed even longer than the wait as he watched the man fighting to save the life of his lover. 

“Mike's alive.” Wade still didn't smile. “Just. The way I see it, he must have been looking away from the box when it blew, maybe doing two things at once, going through papers or his phone or whatever... not that it matters from our point of view, it just makes him lucky. If that thing had hit him right in the face like it was supposed to, there's be nothing much left for me to work on.”

Cody winced, noting how pale Alex was. Wade had no bedside manner to speak of but then it probably wasn't something he was used to doing and he'd had a pretty harrowing time of it himself. 

“I've managed to repair his face, set some bones. I'm not happy that we didn't have a sterile environment. If infection sets in, we could--” He cut himself off. “I've used some of the same things I used on these boys, but you can't expect the same kind of results. The situations are entirely different. They had no broken bones to deal with, we were talking massive external trauma rather than internal. I can't do much to hurry along the healing there. And like I said, there's a lot working against us. But if he remains stable and we keep him under observation then there's no reason that he won't recover. We're lucky in a lot of ways, he had a common blood type that I had lots of and we were close enough to the lab that--”

“Will he remember me?” Alex's voice was hoarse but his eyes were wide with hope. 

Wade didn't want to crush that hope by reminding Alex that Mike's chances weren't great even though he had done what he could, but there was hope and he knew he wasn't going to snuff it out while the chance remained. He wasn't sure he wanted to. “He's in a different position to the boys,” he reminded Alex gently. “We don't have the after-effects of the bomb they were exposed to, this is just a straight-up explosive device we're dealing with here. I can't promise you a thing, but I think he should remember who you are and who he is.”

Alex simply stared for a moment, shaking slightly, then leapt at Wade, throwing his arms around the Englishman. Wade didn't stagger under the assault but he looked rather taken aback and Justin made a very definite threatening move forward before Ted caught his arm. When Justin looked back enquiringly Ted gave a very slight shake of his head to discourage the other man. 

The only person to witness the exchange was John, everyone else too busy watching Alex as he buried his head in Wade's shoulder and burst into sobs. It might have been embarrassing in other circumstances to see a grown man as tough as Alex crying but no one could fault him. That Mike had a chance was the best news they could have hoped for. 

“I'll have to stay and keep an eye on him.” Wade gave a faint smile as he managed to extract himself from Alex. “You can stay in the waiting room but I don't think it's wise to get too close until I can check there's no chance of infection. Fortunately all the equipment and the dressings are always sterile, it's just he atmosphere and I didn't have chance to prep the place. And my clothes aren't exactly clean, let alone sterile--”

“Whoa, Wade.” John held his hands up to stop Wade talking – the man sounded weary and John didn't blame him. But it sounded like he'd blame himself if something happened to the patient, he was gearing up for it clearly and no one wanted that. Wade had done all that he could. “Why don't you sit down, I'll get you some coffee or something.”

“Water would be better, thanks.” Wade rubbed his forehead and smiled. “The rest of you might want to get home.”

“Home?” John looked slightly outraged. “If Mike needs to be watched, then he needs us all here. You can't do it all yourself, you'll fall asleep or something.”

“He needs to be watched by medical professionals,” said Wade severely. “No one else. The rest of my team isn't here, in case you didn't notice. It'll have to be me.”

John shook his head. “No way, you were up last night, you've done unexpected surgery and there's no way you can stay up again doing this alone, even if Justin drip-feeds you coffee. Randy? Can you reach Ev through the comm?”

“Sure.” Randy pressed the speaker on his comm, something that still unnerved John to watch and think that it was a part of him now. “Ev. You there?”

No one else could hear Evan's reply but Randy nodded to himself. “I got him. What're your orders?”

“Ask if we're likely to be able to get Alberto or Christian on the phone any time soon,” John replied. Randy relayed the message, listened then chuckled. “Apparently Alberto's been on the phone most of the time. Gave Chris the go-ahead to be the man in charge. Evan thinks it's more of a cover to make sure we can get out of the building without anyone finding out we're here.”

“Great.” John glanced over at Wade. “See if we can get the med team here to oversee Mike's recovery.”

Wade started to protest and John held his hand up to stop him. “Wade, you'll do him no good if something happens and you're too tired to see straight. They've done this before. There must be some of the people around that were helping you with our boys.”

“Two,” agreed Wade rather irritably. “I can handle this.”

“You can be on call all night if you like, but you need a break to eat and sleep,” said Justin unexpectedly. “John's right, you're operating at a lot less than a hundred percent. You trusted those men to work on us and they'll just be keeping an eye out.”

Randy had been talking to Evan in the meantime and looked over at them. “Evan says the last of the fire engines left just now and the cops have decided to leave the scene 'til tomorrow – does that seem odd to anyone else?” He frowned a second. “Makes our lives easier. Anyway, Alberto's sending those two scientists you mentioned and a couple of men he trusts to act as guards as well. And Doctor Adam, to watch for the night too.” And talk to Alex if he needs it were the unspoken words. 

John looked over at Alex and sighed upon seeing the man all but leaning on the glass separating him and Mike, a hand twitching against it. There was nothing else they could do for him and they needed to regroup but he still felt bad about not staying with him. Although they were hardly leaving him alone. “How long?”

“About half an hour. Evan's keeping an eye out and Chris is finding the bus to bring us all back home at once.”

“We'll leave when the others arrive.” John sighed again, running a hand through his hair and meeting Randy's eyes. Randy had been watching him pretty closely through most of the night and far from unnerving, he found it rather comforting. It wasn't even late, he realised with shock. It had only been lunch time when the bomber had struck and yet it felt as if he had lived through twenty-four hours or more since then, stress and fear and worry all taking their toll. Goodness only knew how the others were being affected. All he knew was that he wanted to go home and climb into bed, forgetting all about everything for a few hours.

~:~

The apartment looked somehow strange when Justin walked into it some time later, perfectly familiar and yet alien, as if it should have been as much changed as the offices they had been in. But everything was just as they had left it and that felt like the strange thing. He closed the door behind him, noticing that Wade was heading right for the kitchen. Oh no, not on his watch. He grabbed Wade's wrist and pointed to the sofa, an eyebrow raised. 

“I'm just making tea--”

“I can make tea.” Justin indicated to the sofa again. “Sit!”

“Yes sir.” Wade almost dropped onto the chair and Justin went into the kitchen to switch on the kettle, going into the bathroom while the kettle boiled and contemplating. Wade preferred a fast shower usually and that would be wise given how he was bloody and probably still grimy in spite of the attempts at scrubbing up before operating on Mike. But the shower and the tub were separate and that would allow him to shower and then relax in the bath. Mind made up, Justin turned the bath on, found an unopened bottle of radox that must have been there since they moved in and added roughly half the bottle to the running water before going back to make the tea. That prepared, he looked in on Wade. The man was leaning back against the couch, eyes closed, although Justin wasn't at all sure that he was genuinely sleeping. Probably some close approximation akin to a combat nap. He smiled to himself and went to turn off the bath before getting the tea and bringing it in to Wade. As he set it down, Wade opened his eyes and fixed Justin with a tired gaze. “Any calls?”

“You didn't even close your eyes long enough to miss a call,” scolded Justin. “Drink the tea then jump into the shower. I'll jump in while you drink and when you get out, I'll have made food.”

“Sounds good,” agreed Wade, reaching for the cup. Justin went into the bathroom again and took as quick a shower as he was able, not wanting to keep Wade from it any longer than he had to. When he came out, clad in clean white boxers that hung low on his hips, Wade had just about finished his tea. 

“Go shower,” ordered Justin. “And use the bath as well. I'm timing you, I don't want to see you for at least forty minutes. In fact, you lie in that tub 'til I call you out.”

Wade looked amused but did as he was told, vanishing into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. Justin vaguely wished that he could go in after the man and offer to scrub his back or massage his shoulders, or even climb atop him in the tub and really take his stress away. Instead he went into the kitchen and made steak sandwiches, filling and rather comforting without being an effort to eat. He considered beer or hot chocolate and then decided on more tea. It probably wouldn't keep Wade awake for long. In fact, he was a little worried in case Wade fell asleep in the bath... but he was so tall that he'd have to do something akin to contortion to drown. 

Wade also donned boxers and nothing else when he emerged from the bathroom rather than the robe he tended to wear – Justin had heard him bitch about the heat more than once though and suspected he was too tired to go with propriety. They ate the sandwiches in the living room with the radio on rather than the television; Justin didn't think it would be wise to remind them of what had happened by following it on the news. As soon as that was done Wade was checking his phone to ensure no calls had come, yawning widely and Justin all but shoved him into the bedroom. Wade didn't fight it but climbed under the covers, giving Justin a curious look when he realised the man was still in his room. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, fine.” Justin remained by the door. “Except that you were put in danger today and that's unacceptable. I'd prefer to stand guard until we get the person behind the bombing.”

Wade sat up in bed. “Justin, that's ridiculous. I don't need a guard and you'll be right next door. And no one'll hit us here.”

“We can't be sure.” Justin closed the bedroom door, having already checked the whole apartment for suspicious activity, sitting on the floor in front of it. “You sleep. I'll guard.”

“You need to sleep too. You're not advanced enough that you can go without just yet.”

“It's just a few hours. I can sleep when we get back to the lab and there's other guards there.”

Wade frowned. “No, out of the question. You need to rest as well. Look.” He pulled back the blankets, making Justin's eyes widen slightly. “If it'll make you feel better, you sleep in here with me for tonight. If something happens to me, which it won't, you'll be the first to know. And you'll know if I get any calls.”

Justin was a little reluctant but he really was tired as well – and hell, Wade was offering to share his bed. No matter how many clandestine visits Justin made while Wade was sleeping, this was different. This was being allowed to sleep with him, to wake up with him. Nodding, Justin made his way across the room and slipped into the bed beside Wade. Wade smiled at him and turned off the lights, plunging the room into shadows. Justin preferred his own room pitch-black but he was damned glad that Wade didn't. He could see the man in profile, remind himself that this was real. 

“Wade?”

“Hmm?”

Justin hesitated a moment. He wasn't sure how to say what he wanted to say. No matter how many times he thought it over in his mind, nothing seemed to be quite right, nothing said it exactly the way he wanted. In the end he went with instinct. “I'll keep you safe.”

“I know.” Wade turned his head and gave a sleepy smile. “But that works both ways. You have to let me keep you safe too.”

Justin mused on this for a moment, rather liking the idea behind that thought. Not that he intended to let Wade get in any kind of danger at all, but it was nice to think that occasionally he could let his guard down and not have to be on all the time. “Okay. You can look after me too.”

“Good.” Wade gave a little smile, closed his eyes and was out like a light. Justin smiled a little, trying not to laugh. No matter how much he argued, Wade really had been exhausted. He was probably a nightmare as a child. 

He was content to simply watch Wade for a little while in spite of his own tiredness but he didn't get much of a chance. As Wade relaxed further into sleep, he rolled onto his side and reached for Justin, shifting closer to him in the bed. Justin didn't detect that the man was awake and pretending and allowed Wade to curl up against him, the Brit's head ending up practically buried into his collar, their legs entwined. Even if he had sneaked into the bed before and enjoyed a little play with a sleeping Wade, this somehow felt a lot more intimate. Wade wasn't reacting to him because of what he was doing. Wade was curled against Justin because it was him.

After all they had gone through that day, Justin would not have thought himself capable of falling asleep with a smile on his face and yet that was exactly what happened, his arms around his handler and a genuine happiness in his heart.

~:~

“You didn’t listen to me today,” John paused mid-way through lifting the ice-cold beer-bottle in hand to his lips, sending a confused look to Randy. Both men were freshly showered and clad in sweatpants, John having pulled on a t-shirt too. Randy was wandering around shirtless and John had found himself seeking a comfort in the fact that maybe being more dressed would allow him to keep better control of himself around the other man. “What are you talking about?” he requested in puzzlement, lowering the bottle with some reluctance and placing it down on the coffee-table before him. Randy’s movements towards him were steadfast and resolute, John barely having chance to react before he suddenly found himself pinned underneath Randy’s long, strong body atop their couch.

Wide-eyed John immediately tried to sit up, but Randy’s legs pinned his own where they rested on the outside of his, his shoulders pinned down by Randy’s hands. John’s panic was stemmed when he took stock of something though, something he hadn’t expected: Randy looked angry. “Randy—“John started, wondering what the hell was going on. He knew that that day had been stressful as anything for them all (so much so that John was sure that they wouldn’t be training or shooting for the next few days at bare minimum) but that didn’t explain why Randy looked as though… as though he didn’t know whether to hit John or kiss him. Balefully John acknowledged that he was probably adding that secondary emotion in through his own wishful thinking, but at the same time it was hard to ignore.

“You could have been hurt,” Randy all but growled at John and a little light-bulb went off in John’s head; Randy had to have been referring to the moment when the explosion went off, and he had been trying to keep John down whereas John had been trying to get up to see what was happening and how he could help… and he had put his foot down the other earlier hadn’t he? “But I wasn’t,” it would have been easy for John to allow his own temper to lash back at Randy and remind him that he had been fine at taking care of himself before Randy had come along… but even as he thought it he felt the world’s biggest bastard. Protecting John and doing whatever John asked of him for their line of work was all that the man knew now. It was his very reason for existing for goodness’ sake.

However, John forced himself to rein his own anger in; it wasn’t as though he was oblivious to how Randy was feeling after all, because he had been terrified in turn that something might happen to him during the incident. But now was not the time to be playing the blame game and since they were both fine, and since their actions had contributed to saving Mike’s life, John just wanted to forget that this had happened. At least for that night because after that when they had things back to normal John didn’t doubt that Alberto would have their whole group focused on locating the source of the miss-hit attempt upon Christian’s life that had almost cost two other innocent men their lives, one more so than the other. “If we hadn’t left that room—“Randy’s mouth suddenly pinched uncomfortably.

It was that expression and the barest tremor in the otherwise oft-stoic man’s voice that let John know what was really wrong: Randy had been afraid for his safety, genuinely well-and-truly scared for him. Something in John’s chest squeezed; he had been loved by his family, much loved even though he was one of quite a number of sons, and he had always had friends, but he had never had someone care about him the way Randy apparently did. A way that John was sure someone would point out as being inappropriate given the set-out-parameters of their relationship, but John couldn’t bring himself to care. He wanted Randy to feel things for him, and even though he didn’t want the other expending valuable energy being worried over nothing it was nice to know Randy didn’t see him as just a job.

“Randy…” John wriggled his shoulder a little and Randy eased back enough to let one shoulder go, allowing John the movement to bring the hand up to cup Randy’s cheek. Although according to Randy’s dossier he was only three years younger than John, the expression on his face right then made him seem much younger, much more vulnerable… And John wanted to wipe all of that fear away. He didn’t want Randy to be frightened. Although Randy didn’t reject his initial touch it still startled John the tiniest bit when the man actually nuzzled his cheek further into his palm. It seemed that the small indications of Randy being a tactile man weren’t wholly lies, though the thought of someone else taking advantage of that tendency made John’s stomach clench in a horrible way.

“Randy, I’m OK, alright? You need to trust that sometimes you can’t have everything go the way it needs to. If I tell you I need to do something I need you to do it for me and trust my judgement…” even if it means that I may get hurt doing it John didn’t need to add those words but he could see from the way Randy’s eyes flashed that he heard them as loudly and as clearly as though John had shouted them right into his ear. His jaw set a little and John found that he couldn’t help himself--- he leant up then and there and nipped at the chiselled jaw, feeling the slightest scratch of stubble making itself known on Randy’s otherwise smooth skin. As soon as he’d done it he froze, but not before feeling Randy mimicking the action and turning almost into a living statue straddling him.

Anxiety that seemed to pale that which he had felt earlier filled John’s stomach and he started to pull back, “I am so sor—“he started, but then cut off when Randy’s hand was suddenly covering the back of his neck, holding his head back towards his jaw and his throat. “Don’t,” Randy muttered, and John shivered at the deep timbre of the tone, thinking that never before had someone been able to affect him so strongly just from the sound of their voice. “Do it again,” Randy mumbled, and for a moment John could have sworn he sounded almost shy but it was hard to imagine that a man of Randy’s good looks and confidence had ever been shy. Despite the firm offer John still hesitated; if he moved forward like this there was very little chance that he could go back to being platonic with Randy.

“Do it again,” Randy’s tone broke no argument and John found that his usually iron-inclination had deserted him for he found himself responding immediately; he bit down lightly on Randy’s jaw again, and then moved down Randy’s jaw to his ear where he took the bottom of the lobe into his mouth and sucked. The way Randy shuddered over him made John feel bolder, more foolhardy--- especially when the younger man left forth a sinful moan when John experimentally flicked his tongue out against the man’s quivering Adam’s-apple. It was only when Randy rocked over his lap that John realised he was growing hard and all at once that knowledge slammed the breaks on his ardour almost painfully. What was he doing? He was just taking advantage of Randy’s emotional state.

A sound of intense displeasure left Randy when John started trying to pull back and John braced his hands on Randy’s chest to try and keep some distance between the two of them. The look in Randy’s eyes had the protest in his throat dying almost immediately and he swallowed thickly; Randy’s eyes were so blown they had turned black, the pupil essentially blotting out his iris. And underneath his palm Randy’s heart was pounding as quickly as his own John knew. As his mouth opened to attempt protest a second time Randy surged forward, flattening John against the couch and possessing his mouth with a determined and talented tongue. Initially John flailed, but as his body overrode his mind he found himself having one final thought as he surrendered: Randy kissed just like he’d imagined. 

~::~

“Chris, for the hundredth time, I promise I feel absolutely fine,” Evan assured, pushing the older man’s hands from his chest where Chris was attempting to pull his pyjama-shirt up to have another look at his ribs--- even though the man had closely inspected his torso when Evan had first gotten out of the shower. Now, ordinarily Evan would never attempt to push Chris off, especially when the man was attempting to touch him, but since it wasn’t in the way he wanted and in a way that was just reminding him of what had happened to Alex (the continued care and speculation) he just wanted the other to stop and calm down a little; he was worried that if Chris continued to keep flapping as he was the mere second Evan coughed or sneezed that he was going to do himself a legitimate injury.

Seeing that Evan was getting a bit irritated with his motherhenning Chris forced himself to back off with a slightly sheepish smile, “Sorry,” he apologised, relieved when Evan rolled his eyes and levelled that same cheeky smile he always had back at him. Taking the moment to study Evan’s face Chris couldn’t help but be amazed; even though Evan had apparently had to essentially crawl through unknown debris and had been inside of the smoke-filled room for half an hour at minimum as he sought out Alberto and negotiated a safe escape-route there wasn’t so much as a scratch on him, and as far as Chris could see (no pun intended) there wasn’t anything wrong with Evan’s eyes either. Looked like Wade’s scientific genius really came through for them once again didn’t it? Smarty-pants.

That last part was thought of in affectionate jest though because if Wade hadn’t been the brainy bastard that he was then Mike Mizanin’s life would have been cut short in the most horrendous and senseless of ways for numerous reasons--- and to make it worse his lover would have suffered even more than he had witnessing Mike in his disfigured state even with the man being put back together. When arms wrapped around his middle Chris jumped a little, though his expression softened when Evan’s head rested in the centre of his chest. He saw nothing wrong with Evan’s compact size, if anything he liked it better than if Evan would be a strapping six-footer like Randy; Evan’s smaller size meant that he fit damned perfectly into Chris’ arms when he got the chance to hold him like this.

“So…” Chris murmured softly, allowing himself the little stolen moment too by draping his arms around Evan’s trim middle, just daring to let his fingers rest over the band of his pyjama trousers, “You certainly caused a stir earlier,” he felt his cheeks heat up a little even as he’d said it. Though he had no complaints about the kiss, and none of the other handlers had said anything terrible, he couldn’t help but think that maybe they had done something they shouldn’t have on some level… and his mind wandered back to Cody’s reaction when he thought that bit. For a moment Evan didn’t respond and then he pulled back, cocking his head and looking at Chris with an expression that seemed crossed between nervous and mischievous, “Did I do something that I shouldn’t have Chris? Are you angry?”

“Whoa, calm down Evvy,” Chris said, rubbing the man’s lower-back gently, “I’m not angry,” he assured him hastily. He was most definitely not angry about the kiss. “I was just thinking… everyone seemed really surprised and uh, thought that we were um, that we’ve been—“considering Chris was what Wade had once called, ‘a natural born gobshite’ it took a lot to render the man speechless, or to struggle to say what he meant the way that he was in that moment. “We’ve been what?” Evan asked, and this time Chris could definitely make out that little glimmer of wicked cheekiness in Evan’s eyes that had been present earlier when he had landed that spontaneous kiss on him. Chris cleared his throat softly and mumbled something that even Evan’s advanced hearing almost missed even despite their nearness.

“That we’ve been lovers?” Evan repeated in a louder voice, although there was the barest hint of trepidation in his tone as he said it. And hopefulness, although Chris barely dared think it; Evan may be conditioned to consider him most above anyone else in the world, and maybe they were friends, but even with their occasional flirtatious banter Chris had never really expected that Evan might feel for him the way he felt for Evan. Honestly, he had thought that Randy was more Evan’s sort given the way those two interacted most of the time… but it looked as though he’d been wrong. And he couldn’t remember a time in his life when he had ever been glad about the fact that he was. “Yes,” Chris managed, glad when the word came out level and a little more confident, more like his normal tone.

When the smaller man pulled back so that they were still close but far enough apart that Evan could meet Chris’ eyes without having to turn his head too uncomfortably to do so, Evan cocked his head aside and assessed Chris with an almost hurt look, “You have a problem with them considering us like that?” he asked softly, and Chris felt as though he’d literally kicked a puppy at the way Evan seemed to sag in on himself; if he’d had ears and a tail Chris had no doubt that they would have been flat against his head, and his tail wouldn’t have been wagging. “No!” he responded immediately, and then mentally cursed when he realised how eager he’d sounded. Not cool, Jericho, not cool, his subconscious chided and Chris shushed it firmly before clearing his throat and trying to calm down.

“I don’t have a problem with them thinking of us like that,” and he meant that whole-heartedly. The only problem was what Dr Adam might make of the situation… although John had apparently gained some sort of understanding that Alberto wouldn’t care what he and Evan may get up to… something that may not be entirely out of the realm of possibility considering that Evan had been the one to save the man’s life that day. “So…” Evan paused a moment, looking as though he was thinking of what to say next--- although Chris had the distinct impression that Evan already knew what he wanted to say, he was just trying to buy some time or something before saying it. “Does that mean you’re going to kiss me this time then?” he asked and Chris almost fell over at the straightforward question.

“I—“he swallowed and licked his lips slightly, oddly thrilled with the way Evan’s eyes went to his lips as he did so, his own parting just slightly when he did, “Well that depends doesn’t it?” Chris asked, his voice lowering slightly in a playful and slightly seductive manner as he continued, “Do you want me to kiss you Evan?” Of course it would seem obvious that that was what Evan wanted considering what he had just asked but that wasn’t the point; Chris wanted Evan to say it, wholly and truthfully, before he did anything else. The brief kiss had been a little taste and if he got more… Well, Chris was just trusting that his body would listen to him when it was time to calm down, although the tingling sensation spreading throughout him from fingertips to his toes in anticipation told him otherwise.

For a moment Evan looked surprised and startled, but then something flashed through his eyes that seemed like excitement. Evan tilted his chin upwards, tempting lips all but being offered to him as he waited a moment before saying, “I don’t want you to kiss me, Chris—“Chris felt as though shock had knocked the very wind out of him, but Evan’s following words made it come rushing back again and then some, “I need you to kiss me.” Well, what sort of man would he be if he ignored such an impassioned request? Reaching a hand out Chris cupped the back of Evan’s head, fingers sliding into his short hair as he angled the shorter man’s head a little more. First he brushed their lips together, and when Evan sighed in apparent disappointment that it wasn’t more Chris struck without hesitation. 

~::~

Cody opened his eyes when the melody Ted had been playing on the keyboard suddenly stopped, blinking a few times when he realised that he felt a little sleepy. “Welcome back,” Ted murmured softly with an affectionate smile playing around his lips, causing Cody to blush when he realised that he apparently had fallen asleep sometime during Ted playing for him. “Sorry,” Cody whispered a little awkwardly; Ted had only been playing because Cody had asked him to, the ravenette sure that the other’s talented fingers would be able to soothe his restless mind--- and he was aware that that sounded rather pervy, and that was specifically why he hadn’t said that explanation out loud to Ted before when he had first asked the other to play after they had showered and had some dinner.

“Don’t worry about it,” Ted assured, rubbing the back of Cody’s neck gently and revelling in the way that he leant into his hand and nestled his cheek upon his shoulder a moment later, “—it’s been a busy day,” he murmured softly, expression closing off slightly for a moment. Cody opened his eyes again and glanced up at Ted, quirking a little smile as he offered, “Shall we go to bed?” he asked softly, and Ted smiled back briefly before nodding his head, “Yeah, bed sounds great right now, Code.” Ted had pretty much moved into Cody’s bedroom now on a night, he only went into his own bedroom for clothing; seemed silly not to make use of the room somehow given that they were never going to be in a position where they could use it for guests who wanted to stay over and suchlike.

Turning off the keyboard and putting it away in the small cupboard off to the side in their living-room area and then headed into the bathroom to wash up. Cody had already done so after they’d eaten and so he was already in bed waiting as Ted washed up for the night. As he took the moment to curl his arms underneath what was now Ted’s pillow in their bed Cody stilled as he felt something firm, something that crinkled when his fingers surrounded it. Paper? Cody curiously pulled the item out from underneath the pillow, surprised to find it was something that appeared to be a page from a sketchpad. It was slightly crinkled but otherwise well-cared for. Carefully, Cody unfolded the image--- and his eyes widened in disbelief, breathe catching in his throat as he took in the pencil drawing.

It was a picture of himself, seated by a window and looking out of it, so his face was maybe three-quarters visible in profile. His knees were drawn up to his chest and he had one of his prize graphic novels at his feel, open and almost falling off of the window-seat, unnoticed by his image-self. Cody had to smile then; he doubted he could have sat still long enough to pose for such an image, especially if he thought that one of his precious graphic novels looked as though it was going to fall and end up with bent or rumpled pages. Bent book pages was one of his pet-peeves, and one of the reasons why he was really uneasy about loaning John books; John was always bending book pages back even when someone (Cody) provided him a book-mark with the loan. Speaking of posing though...

Cody didn’t remember posing for someone to draw a picture of him, and he was sure he wouldn’t forget something like that. The sudden sound of someone’s breath catching made Cody look up, and he flushed guiltily as though he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t--- Ted looked equally red-faced though and Cody had the feeling that it was nothing to do with the fact that he had just washed his face. “Who drew this?” Cody asked softly, motioning for Ted to join him in bed as he moved back across to his own side, the blonde hesitating a moment before joining him underneath the covers, looking down at the bedding coyly as he mumbled, “Well, actually… Evan did it,” he admitted after a moment’s hesitation, surprising Cody greatly. He had no idea Evan was artistic.

“I asked him to,” Ted admitted softly, “I saw him sketching outside one day when we were hanging around between classes and stuff and, well, I asked if he could draw you. He said he would, but if he didn’t have you there modelling he didn’t think it would be as good… when he showed me that I said that the only thing more perfect was the real thing…” Cody’s heart was almost in his mouth at this stage and his eyes were stinging suspiciously; he knew Ted was romantic but this? This was the sort of thing heroes did in those daft romance-novels that women fought over because their realities were nowhere near as good. But this was Cody’s reality he had this perfect man actually there beside him. “Why did you want a picture?” Cody asked, though he knew he should probably asked something else.

Like how Evan had reacted when Ted had asked for a picture of his handler. For a moment Ted looked confused, as though he wasn’t sure how to respond, and then he said, “I… I just wanted it I guess… I like looking at it.” The image made him feel calmer, especially during the times where Cody was called off with the other handlers and he was left alone. Ted hung his head then, clearly embarrassed, “I bet that’s pathetic right? And I didn’t even ask your permission first… I’m sorry,” he held his hand out, clearly wanting the image back, “I’ll get rid of it if you want,” he offered, although Cody could hear a definite ego-boosting reluctance therein. “Teddy…” Cody said softly, refolding the image up and setting it safely aside on his bedside table, “Babe, look at me?” he requested softly.

Tentatively lifting his gaze Ted was shocked when he saw that Cody was smiling at him. He had thought for sure that the other would be furious that he had done something so intimate behind his back, although it had been done with completely wholesome intentions. Technically though it had been done a bit before their progression into becoming a couple so there was every chance that might have been the bit that Cody was uncomfortable with. “Are you just the world’s greatest romantic?” Cody asked softly, lacing his fingers through Ted’s with the hand closest to him, smiling as Ted blushed darkly, surprise on his face that Cody wasn’t verbally biting his head off, “You sure know how to make a man feel special,” Cody ducked his own head then, still pretty embarrassed in a good way.

“Well, you deserve to be made to feel like an absolute prince Cody,” Ted responded fervently, startling Cody somewhat with the sudden outpouring of emotion in such a small sentence. Ted meant it though, and after seeing what Alex had gone through that day? Well, he knew for certain that he was in love with Cody, and that he never wanted to be apart from him. All in all he felt Alex had composed himself admirably during the event… He wasn’t sure he would have done the same. “Cody…” he really hoped that Cody didn’t misunderstand him with what he was about to say next, because if Cody laughed or thought he felt this way only because of the changes he had been through after the accident he was pretty sure that his heart would break beyond repair in point five seconds flat.

“Cody… I love you,” Ted felt elated with the words finally coming out there in the open, having wanted to say it for so long now, “I want to be with you forever.” Alright, maybe he was laying it on a little thick but he didn’t care; he meant it and he needed Cody to know. If something went wrong and he died tomorrow, or become broke to the degree where they couldn’t put him back together, he needed Cody to know. Cody by contrast looked as though someone had just smacked him upside the head with a ridiculously heavy object. The longer he didn’t say anything the more nervous Ted became, although when he opened his mouth to tell Cody that he didn’t expect the other would feel exactly the same the words never came as Cody found something more interesting for his tongue to do.

~:~

Clothes ended up strewn across the floor as John and Randy made unsteady progress toward John's bedroom, progress hampered as they stripped one another along the way, never able to leave off kissing one another for long. John's back hit the bedroom door with a thud and Randy kissed him again, groping blindly for the door handle and almost spilling them both to the floor of the room as it opened. They stumbled and John took advantage to turn them around and all but shove Randy onto the bed. There was a part of him giving a reminder that it was probably a stupid idea, that he ought to be the one putting a quick stop to this, but he ignored it. Randy had shown his own fear so clearly and John had been worried for all of them, but mostly Randy and that told him plenty. Watching Wade operate had only reminded him that he could easily have lost Randy before he even found him and that had scared the living hell out of him. He needed to show Randy that he felt just the same and should there be some objected – well, Alberto would just have to work with them on this one. Given that he owed Evan and Ted big and that he knew the units wouldn't be dealing so well with any other handlers, they might be able to get around this no matter what Doctor Adam thought.

By the time they hit the bed they were down to their underwear and John didn't give himself chance to talk himself out of anything, planting a soft kiss to the centre of Randy's chest. Surprisingly Randy didn't seem to really notice and with a slight frown, John kissed the same spot harder. That got more of a response but not exactly what he would have been expecting. Some intelligence kicked at the back of his lust-addled brain and he lightly ran his nails down Randy's abs. No response, no marks and he hadn't done it that softly.

Synthetic skin he realised. Less responsive, less prone to injuries. He had the memory of Randy trying to shave without noticing how much skin he was taking off and suddenly he wasn't sure that this was a good idea, not because of being found out but for themselves. 

“John?” Randy picked up on his change of mood instantly. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” said John quickly, not wanting Randy to realise what was going through his mind – he might take it as a rejection and it certainly wasn't that. John hadn't had time to doubt that he could make it good for Randy but that was what was happening now. 

“Can you feel that?” he asked as he ran his nails even harder over Randy's stomach. 

Randy wriggled slightly. “Tickles,” he said with a chuckle. “Why?”

“Nothing,” said John, trying to put it out of his mind and get on with what he was supposed to be doing. 

Randy wrapped his legs around John's waist and flipped him neatly, pinning the handler to the bed before leaning up so that he could look at John properly. “Don't lie to me. Don't you want to be with me, is that it?”

“Shit no, that's not it. Nothing further from the truth.” John swallowed and knew he was going to have to tell at least a little of what was bothering him. “I – Randy, I'm touching you and you can't feel it.”

Randy paused a moment and looked serious. “I feel it,” he said solemnly. “Every touch. But it's just – I don't think that the skin works with the nerves in the same way. But I can feel it.” He unexpectedly gave a wide grin. “I guess you'll just have to be rough with me. That's good, I'm pretty sure that's how I prefer it.”

John chuckled slightly at the expression on Randy's face and nodded. He could do that, he was certain. But it looked like Randy hadn't finished because his gaze slipped from John's and he worried his lip with his teeth for a second. “Uh, since we're picking the worst possible moment to confess any hang-ups we might have with one another... I don't think I can take you John.”

John's eyes widened. “What?”

Randy looked uncomfortable. “I can't hurt you, I'm conditioned not to and if I did that, I might. So uh, yeah.”

“But you still wanna...”

“Yeah.”

John quirked a smile – it was something he had never considered before and it was almost sweet that Randy thought of protecting him even from his own sexual appetites. “You will take me and you won't hurt me.” 

Randy's expression changed to one of concern, slight panic – and John didn't miss the spark of lust in his eyes. He knew damned well that in a former life Randy had not been one of life's natural bottoms and it showed when he got aggressive. And yet he still wanted John in any way he could get him and John relented. “But not tonight,” he said, drawing Randy against him for a kiss and within seconds the atmosphere had changed again, the lust that had been muted while they talked back with a vengeance. 

John felt Randy move slightly and drag his boxers from his body, a slightly awkward moment that neither one of them noticed. John gasped slightly as he was exposed to the air and then again when he felt the warmth of Randy's abs against him. He was suddenly desperate to feel Randy wholly naked against him and rolled them again so he could all but tear off Randy's underwear. Randy's cock rose hard against his abs and John took a moment to lean back and admire the man lying against his sheets, a sight he had often found himself dreaming of and yet his thoughts hadn't done justice to reality. 

“Are you just gonna sit back and watch me or are you gonna screw me through the mattress?” asked Randy comfortably. 

John smirked. “I dunno, admiring you for a couple more hours seems like a plan...”

“John!”

“I'm flattered you think I've got that much patience.” John reached over and went in the drawer by his bedside, rescuing the jar of vaseline that he kept there (and if asked why, he would insist it was for injuries, burns and the like and almost be able to keep a straight face). 

Randy watched him as he unscrewed the cap and rubbed some over his fingers. “John, what did I say about rough? I can't wait.”

“There's a difference between rough and thoughtless,” replied John rather severely. “And Wade didn't put your ass back together, did he?”

“I hope not,” said Randy fervently. “I don't care what Justin thinks, there's some places I don't want Wade going.”

“So we do this my way or not at all.” John's smirk widened as he noticed Randy having some issues with being told he couldn't have what he wanted, at war with his instinct to do as John ordered him and took advantage of the moment to move down Randy's body, allowing the tip of his tongue to swirl over the head of Randy's cock and hearing the man moan loudly at the action. He grinned to himself and slipped a single finger inside his lover. He had a rather startled moment when he realised how tight Randy was and scolded himself mentally. What else had he expected? And Randy didn't seem to object to the intrusion at all, letting his legs open wider and his hips tilt to give John greater access. 

John pressed a second finger inside Randy when he was sure the other had stretched sufficiently to take it, distracting the man a little by alternately nipping at the skin of his thighs and taking his balls in his mouth. His fears about what Randy could feel had been calmed a little by the way Randy reacted to what he was doing, writhing and moaning and speaking in disjointed, needy bursts. By the time that John added a third finger he was giving the occasional loud cry to broadcast his pleasure.

John was ready, very ready, but he was at loathe to stop what he was doing too soon. The sounds and movements Randy gave fascinated him and just when he thought he would leave off what he was doing and satisfy the both of them, Randy would make some other sound that kept him where he was. Probably he was teasing the man too much, but he didn't care. If he thought he could have gotten away with it, he would have kept going all night...

“Gnn – John please--” Randy all but begging was one of the sweetest sounds John had ever heard. “John, I need--”

At that moment Randy shifted his hips and John curled his fingers and pressed them still deeper into Randy. The result as he found the man's prostate was electric; Randy arched his back and cried out so loudly that John thought Cody and Ted downstairs might have heard him, trying to impale himself further on John's fingers. John's cock twitched and he let out a moan of his own, knowing there was no way he could keep away from Randy now. He had to have him. 

He withdrew his fingers and moved up Randy's body again, not at all surprised when Randy grabbed his arms and flipped him onto his back. There was a look in the taller man's eyes, needy and desperate, the pupils so wide they made his eyes look almost black. John made some small protest that died when Randy straddled his hips and met his eyes, wrapping a hand around the base of John's cock before starting to slowly lower himself onto it. John hissed between his teeth as he felt himself engulfed by that tight heat, knowing he was the one to push Randy to the edge of patience until the man had no choice but to take some kind of charge. The way things were right then, he had no objections at all. 

By the time Randy was seated entirely on him, John thought he had done very well not to simply shoot his load somewhere in the meantime – the slow, almost teasing way that Randy had drawn John into his body had been the hottest thing he had ever experienced and he'd had a great view of Randy the whole time. Leaning over John with a look of bliss on his face, cock standing against his abs stiff and leaking, John rather felt he'd managed to fall into a porno film, where the sex was always hot and orgasmic and the players were too damned fine to be believed. And yet it was happening to him and there was no way that any film or fantasy could compare. 

Randy started to move over him and John moaned, reaching to grab his hips, his ass, holding him steady as he took charge. Randy might have been the one taking but he controlled everything about the act and John allowed him to, taking no care when it came to how he touched the other man – he wasn't sure he could have done even if Randy hadn't said what he had earlier, he needed the other man and yet Randy seemed hell-bent on teasing him by going slowly. Perhaps it was some kind of revenge for his own actions earlier.

“Randy--” John was sure he was leaving finger-marks on Randy's hips as he tried to urge the other to go faster – it had been too much waiting to hold back and he knew he wasn't going to last all that long. He didn't want that to happen until Randy was ready too. Randy seemed to hear the unspoken plea because he leaned back a little, letting out another of those hoarse, lustful cries as he positioned himself perfectly for john to hit his prostate with every stroke. Eyes hazy, he wrapped a hand around his cock to help his release along a little--

And John wasn't having that. He moved a hand from Randy's hip, his fingers twining with Randy's as they both worked toward the same end, hips still moving in an erratic, rhythmless dance that was still perfect for them, exactly what they were searching for. 

It was Randy who let himself go first, yelling to the ceiling and anyone else who cared to be listening as he came over his own hand, John's, his stomach. At the same time his inner muscles clamped down on John hard, the added pressure jolting John into his own release only a split-second following Randy. The knowledge that he was filling Randy with his seed added a whole new dimension to the thrill of being with him; John had never screwed without a condom before and thought that Randy allowing that without question spoke volumes over how much the man trusted him. 

Randy all but fell on John, completely sated and with a grin on his face that spoke of the satisfaction he felt. John might have had some comment to make about that but he didn't; he thought that Randy had the right to be grinning. There was sex and then there was sex and although he knew for certain that Randy wouldn't remember any better, the truth was that neither did John. And he wasn't sure if that thought was unnerving or not.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Neither Of Us Asked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationship parameters are changing on all sides, and it's been three days since the explosion.

Meanwhile, in the same operating theatre in which John’s lover had been essentially ‘created’, Alex Riley was praying fervently to every deity he could think of that Mike would soon wake up. It didn’t matter if he had to help him remember everything all over again, so long as Mike was OK. Of course it would be a given bonus if Mike could remember him, extra points for remembering how in love with him he was too. It hadn’t been easy winning the affections of the oft high maintenance lawyer and though he would rather not go through those particular trials again he would if he had to. As long as Mike was going to be OK he’d be willing to do anything. When a cup of (what smelled to be) hot chocolate appeared in his lowered line of vision Alex slowly looked up and cocked his head silently.

The Asian woman who happened to be one of the assistants helping keep an eye on Mike smiled kindly at him and handed it over, “Thanks Gail,” he murmured softly. She and her partner (a slightly arrogant but otherwise competent young man) had introduced themselves to him individually when they had maybe had a small break to fetch refreshments or visit the toilet. Daniel was currently standing over Mike, jotting something down on a clipboard. Mike looked the same as he ever had, mar the remains of the ruined clothing underneath him; he knew Wade hadn’t had much chance to remove all of his clothing, had only taken away what was needed, and they obviously didn’t want to risk moving Mike too early to remove it. He sincerely hoped that they weren’t going to be a large infection risk.

“Keep positive,” she told him, her voice quiet and mellow, though whether that was natural or just for his benefit he had no idea, “There’s every chance that he’ll wake up. You’ve seen what Wade can do, and from the looks of Mr Mizanin despite everything else that was happening Wade did the best for him.” She then paused and gave a kind, slightly conspiratorial smile and placed a finger over her lips, “Don’t tell him I called him by name, OK?” although Wade had never requested his assistants didn’t call him by name they addressed him by his title to show the respect they had for him… and all of the things she had witnessed, was witnessing and would witness, left Gail in no doubt that her respect was well-earned by the man, even though he had made no effort to do so. Alex tried to smile back.

Glancing through to the operating room Gail quirked a slight smile and nodded when Daniel looked up as though sensing her gaze and then gave her a thumbs up to let her know that he was OK to keep an eye on Mike solo for a bit. Alex was exhausted and it seemed to be sheer determination that was keeping the man up; the hot chocolate she had hoped would soothe him a little, but he seemed as alert as ever. Momentarily Gail floundered, wondering what topic of conversation she could use to be appropriate and yet distract him from what was happening to his currently essentially comatose lover. “How did you two meet?” she asked. And that hadn’t just been segue they had been the first openly homosexual couple she had met, literally, upon entering work there; Alberto and Christian after that.

For a moment Alex looked confused, as though he didn’t understand what was being asked of him, but then a slightly more genuine smile started to curl his lips as he leant back in the semi-comfortable seat he was in. Scrubbing a hand over his face he took another sip of the chocolate and sighed, “I saved him,” the words were said with bitter amusement and Gail gingerly patted his hand in what she hoped was a sympathetic manner; Alex had saved Mike this time too, more than he could probably understand, regardless of Wade’s technically more involved role. “How?” she inquired, letting her hand drop after a moment to prevent it from becoming awkward for either of them. “It was pretty late one night and I had been at a local boxing club, blowing off some steam…” he trailed off then.

Recognising the slight shift of nostalgia clouding Alex’s eyes Gail kept quiet and waited, interested in what he was going to say, “Anyway as I said it was late and I came outside. I was heading back to my car when I heard shouting—“the smile slipped then and he seemed almost angry, “Three guys had jumped him coming out of his office. He was only pretty new to the area at the time, and yet he was already getting a rep as a great lawyer,” this was said with pride though the set of his jaw still denoted his anger and upset, “—and these guys… One of them had assaulted a woman and Mike had helped her start to press charges, all they had to do was find out the perp’s ID. Well, the perp and his friends found Mike first…” Alex chuckled slightly then and exhaled, “He didn’t give in easily.”

When he’d arrived to help even the odds a little Mike had been valiantly struggling despite the fact that he’d been punched and kicked so hard he could barely stand, he had a bloody nose and one of his eyes had almost sealed over with a bruise. “I hope you really hurt them,” she said mildly and Alex looked surprised a moment before smiling almost shyly, “I guess I got a little carried away. I recognised Mike, his office having been nearby and all, and I guess that made it easier to just—“he floundered but Gail nodded. “So, long story short I knocked one out, one ran off and the other gave in. I called the cops, they took the two away and I went with Mike to get checked out. Fortunately, or unfortunately as Mike saw it, a lot of the damage was merely cosmetic, plasters and antiseptic only.”

That was surprising; Gail hadn’t though their local area was that bad for crime, but then she recounted that Alex and Mike weren’t local, unlike herself who had moved to the area three years before being picked up by Alberto’s radars. “So did you ask him out that night?” she teased and Alex chuckled, glancing at the operating room and his expression softened again. “Nah… He asked me to dinner a few days later to say thanks, and we just kind of… starting meeting up more. Drinks here, dinner there, a movie on occasion—“he then looked a little bemused as though something had only just occurred to him, “You know, we’ve been together five years this year and I don’t think either of us actually ever officially asked the other out…” it just seemed, one day, that they woke up as lovers.

~::~

Ted was in agony, literal agony, though not through any reason he would like to admit. He was hard. And the more mortifying part was that he had been ‘helped’ that way not only by the fact that he and Cody had somehow ended up spooning in the night, Ted nestled most comfortably against the ravenette’s back and therefore with his posterior in a most appreciated place, but because of the noises he could heard coming from the apartment above. A part of Ted he didn’t quite feel connected to was absolutely embarrassed to the bone to have heard two people having such a passionate encounter but another part of him, the part he felt more like now, felt two other things: jealous and stunned. Randy and John had actually just had sex. And as far as Ted could tell they had liked it.

Swallowing thickly as the noises upstairs quietened, Ted wondered if he should go into the bathroom to deal with his issue or… wake Cody up, whispered a wicked little voice from the depths of his subconscious that sounded familiar but not to the degree where Ted could place it, wake him up in the best possible way… you know he wouldn’t say no. When it comes to you ‘no’ never crosses his mind. And more and more Ted was realising that thought was true; Cody would do anything for him just the way he would for Cody, and just like his deeper feelings for Cody, Cody’s feelings hadn’t been conditioned into him. They were wholly natural and meant something to both of them. The prospect of waking Cody was exciting, and terrifying, and Ted wasn’t sure he’d dare to go through with it overall.

If Cody rejected him (and given the circumstances, despite what his subconscious thought, that was a probability) then he would be devastated and he doubted that he would be able to convince himself to be so reckless ever again. Still, even if he didn’t wake Cody, Ted knew he had to do something because his hormones were making their presence well and truly known right then. Suddenly Cody sighed, and Ted tensed, terrified that he had disturbed the other and that Cody was about to call him a gigantic pervert or something, but then the ravenette merely sighed again and shifted, wriggling himself closer back into Ted and causing the blonde to whimper softly as the fabric of his boxers was pulled and pressed into him in a way that was providing friction but not nearly enough for the blonde.

When a quiet sound almost like a moan left Cody, Ted stiffened (in both senses of the word) but when another sleepy sound that sounded suspiciously like his own name left Cody’s slightly parted lips, he was sure he could explode without anything to ‘aid his detonation’ so to speak. Biting down on his lip hard Ted tried to ease back from Cody as he attempted to think of un-arousing thoughts, but every time he moved Cody seemed to subconsciously realise and followed, and a few more sounds left him which further tormented Ted. Whatever Cody was dreaming about Ted was flattered to know that he seemed to have a big part in it (he’d have been pretty damn jealous and pissed otherwise) but at the same time he was beginning to wish he had the inclination to use the other bed.

Or the bathroom at least.

~::~

“You should go to sleep,” Christian chided as he sat beside Alberto. His lover had been stitched up, cleaned up, given painkillers and sent home. Apparently, given what they had been told about the bomb and its power thus far, Alberto was damned lucky that he had stayed in his office because if he had been in the immediate danger-zone then there would have been worse damage to contend with. Christian visibly shuddered as he thought about how close Alberto had come to being seriously injured, or worse, killed, and wished (not for the first time) that Alberto hadn’t the reputation that he did. Not to say that he had been mislead with the other; Alberto had been completely honest with him about who he was, what he was like and what he did from the first moment they had met each other.

“I’m not tired,” Alberto muttered, although it wasn’t sincerely true; the painkillers and constant flurry of activity and residual shock were all beginning to gang up on him and he was valiantly struggling to keep awake. The prospect of falling asleep, especially since it was still relatively early in the evening to him and his lover was a big no-no--- there was every chance something else might happen to Christian should the other decide to go somewhere when Alberto was asleep. Although his probability of getting far in such a circumstance was slim because Ricardo and all of their carefully vetted security had been ordered to keep Christian inside of their apartments. Alberto had only been allowed to return home early because he had caused a headache for the staff once the necessary was done.

“You are,” Christian said softly, moving his laptop to their bedside table and then getting into bed besides Alberto. A frown creased his face as he took in the black stiches marring Alberto’s tanned muscles, exhaling softly as he traced his fingers over them. A suspicious stinging was starting in his eyes and the Canadian swallowed thickly; the last thing he needed was to cry before the other, because Alberto would never let him live it down, he’d be embarrassed and annoyed with himself, and most importantly he didn’t want the other working himself up over it when he was supposed to be resting. It was a miracle that he had managed to convince Alberto to stay home until the stitches settled and handle everything via his laptop, his mobile, and, if necessary, to have Ricardo do errands.

He was sure Ricardo would adore receiving extra orders from Alberto because it would undoubtedly inflate his already maniacal sense of self-importance and the belief that he was important and useful to Alberto. Had he not been such a smarmy ass-kisser with a very obvious (although Alberto seemed oblivious, or at least never mentioned it) crush on his lover, then Christian might have actually liked him for his devotion and steadfast work ethic. “Go to sleep,” he pleaded softly, and then paused before laying his head down on Alberto’s shoulder, arm draped carefully over his stomach under the stiches, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be right here when you wake up. Just go to sleep OK?” And then tomorrow they could start working on their next move; retaliation or conservation, whichever.

~:~

The time he spent lying beside Cody that night were a blissful torture; he had no idea what Cody was dreaming about but Ted heard every breath he took, every mumble that didn't seem to relate to the last one, he was painfully aware every time Cody moved and he was very aware of his own reaction. He never softened once and he couldn't get away, he was starting to think that he should just take care of himself where he lay but that would be too embarrassing if Cody awoke and caught him. He was just thinking he would have to risk waking Cody while he went to the bathroom when Cody rolled over, taking Ted a little by surprise. Quietly he pushed the covers back and used his best sneaking ability to get out of the bed, freezing when he heard his name spoken. He waited a few seconds and decided that Cody was still asleep, but he lingered a while longer. There was something about the tone of voice that worried him. 

“Ted,” said Cody again and this time there was no mistaking the slight panic in Cody's voice, or the way he started twitching, as if in his dream he was moving. “No Ted, don't go in there – I said don't!”  
Intentions forgotten, Ted climbed right back onto the bed and reached out for the other. Cody was actually reaching out for something when Ted caught his arm, pushing it back to the bed and shaking him into wakefulness. Cody's eyes flew open, wide and blue and completely afraid before the expression morphed into confusion as he looked back at Ted's obvious concern. 

“Ted?” He gave a slightly shaky laugh. “Oh, a dream. Did I wake you?”

“I was already awake,” replied Ted truthfully. “What's wrong?”

“Just a hangover from what happened yesterday,” said Cody, rubbing his face with his hand. “I was just dreaming about what happened.”

Ted frowned a little. “You were telling me not to go somewhere.”

Cody looked embarrassed. “Well, I wasn't dreaming of exactly what happened. About a thousand times worse and then you were the one who went after Alberto. And parts of the building were collapsing around us. A worst-case scenario I guess. Not that it wasn't bad enough, but I suppose we're allowed to think the worst when we dream because we can wake up lucky.”

Ted wouldn't describe the situation as lucky – but they had been out before the bomb had hit. If Cody had been injured in any way then he would have been devastated. Perhaps they were lucky after all. 

Cody sat up in bed, Ted moving to allow him some room, and wrapped his arms around Ted's shoulders. “I'm sorry if I scared you,” he said softly.

Ted made some vague noise of assurance but he was suddenly aware that the hard-on that had deflated slightly when he had been worried for Cody had returned with a vengeance. He was going to have to get away or else he wasn't going to get any sleep whatsoever. And Cody's breath against his neck wasn't helping matters. It took all of his willpower not to climb onto Cody's knee and impale himself on the other man's cock... although that would probably not work given that they were still clad in their boxers. 

Cody stayed where he was a moment and then moved slightly, brushing against the telling bulge in Ted's boxers. He drew back with a slightly amused look. “I guess I know what was keeping you up all night – in every sense of the word.”

Ted flushed and dropped his eyes and Cody immediately became contrite. “I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to tease. Hey.” He put a hand on Ted's reddened cheek. “I'm sorry, it's okay.” He paused. “Let me do something about it.”

Ted looked up so fast that Cody was surprised he hadn't gotten whiplash. “I--”

“Hush,” said Cody absently, pushing Ted onto his back, something that Ted allowed willingly enough. Cody hooked his fingers into the waistband of Ted's boxers and slipped them off quickly, raising an appreciative eyebrow. “Damn Ted, do you have any idea how perfect you are?”

Wide-eyed, Ted shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. He certainly didn't want to remind Cody that he had been put back together that way – and anyway, he was pretty sure that the important part hadn't been rebuilt. 

“You are.” Cody moved down Ted's body and kissed his inner thigh. “Teddy? I'm really, really glad you're okay.”

And with that he took Ted's cock into his mouth.

Ted gasped, trying to stop himself from arching deeper into Cody's mouth – that could choke him and Ted's primary concern was still with Cody's well-being. Cody didn't seem to mind at all, moving his lips further over Ted's cock until Ted was sure that he could feel Cody's nose against his skin. He moaned his lover’s name, burying his hands in Cody's hair and tugging at the soft locks gently. Cody continued to bob his head up and down, using his tongue to stroke the underside of Ted's cock, one hand on Ted's hip to control any movement Ted might have made. Ted looked down, seeing that head between his thighs, Cody actually looking up at him and Ted could see the wicked little glint in his eyes. It only made the whole thing better still – and when Cody's hand went to his balls and started massaging them, he knew he was at the point of no return. 

“Cody,” he managed to say. “I'm there I – fuck, Cody!”

Cody didn't move as Ted had fully expected, taking Ted deeper into his mouth and giving a hard suck that sent Ted spiralling over the edge. With a yell he emptied himself into Cody's mouth, completely overtaken by the sensation of utter ecstasy as he felt Cody's mouth working around him, every nerve in his body reacting to the orgasm that hit him with bone-jarring force. He felt as if it took him a long time to come back to himself fully, all but panting as Cody finally let his cock slip from his mouth and gave Ted a grin that was rather smug. Ted didn't mind. If Cody could do that to him, he deserved to feel proud of himself. 

Cody moved up the bed to lie next to Ted. “That okay?” he asked rather sweetly. 

“That was damned amazing,” replied Ted, sounding as breathless as he felt. A thought hit him and his face dropped a little. “You can't have got much out of it--”

“I'm just fine Teddy. I just like to see my man taken care of. Now try and get some sleep.”

Ted nodded, rather liking the way Cody called him my man. He didn't know if Cody would want to snuggle up to him as he had been earlier now that he had done that but Cody wrapped his arms around him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Ted could taste himself on the other and thought it probably shouldn't have been so thrilling as it actually was. 

They lay in silence for a few moments and then Cody spoke. “Ted?”

“Mmm?”

“Do you wanna sleep with me?”

Ted frowned in confusion. “You are sleeping with me. We slept together last night too. Of course I wanna sleep with you.”

Cody chuckled a little. “Uh, that's not quite what I meant. I meant, uh, do you want us to have sex?”

Ted drew back a little, nodding with an enthusiasm that probably wasn't at all cool. Cody chuckled again. “I want that too,” he said softly. “But not tonight. I want to do this right, not when we're exhausted and we've places to be in the morning. When we've got all the time in the world, okay? I don't know what tomorrow's gonna bring but I know we're not likely to be deployed for anything and you won't even have training because there's gonna be cops all over the place doing forensic whatever. I'm hoping we might get a night to ourselves. And that being the case, I'll treat you the way you deserve. I promise.”

“You already do,” replied Ted, his heart thudding a little too hard.

“And I don't wanna be regretting that I let fear get in my way.” Cody sighed a little. “We live too close to the edge of things to do that. It took today to make me realise it.”

“Are you scared?”

“Not of you. I was more worried about losing you, that if we got found out I'd be kicked out of here so fast my head'd spin. But I don't see that happening any time soon with what's happened.” He didn't add that there was more chance he'd lose Ted to whoever had decided they wanted Christian out of the way. Ted had probably already worked that out.

“I won't let it happen,” vowed Ted. “Alberto owes me a favour, remember? I can use it to make sure you're not kicked out.” He kissed Cody briefly on the lips. “Get some sleep. I need you well rested.”

Cody laughed a little and they both settled down to sleep.

~:~

Justin woke up a while before Wade did, something he was very grateful for. Not that they hadn't all had a stressful day but Wade had the added bonus of a life to save. His brow creased as he thought that one over. If Mike died, Wade would be devastated. Not as devastated as Alex would be of course and Justin would feel for him, but he knew that no matter how stoic Wade came across sometimes he'd feel horrible for losing his patient and might not even be able to face Alex – no, he would face Alex. He'd think it his duty to do so, to tell him that Mike hadn't made it. And he'd take any hysterical outburst or grief-driven accusations of negligence or incompetence as richly disturbed. 

Sighing a little, Justin reached out and stroked Wade's face. The man didn't even stir and that made Justin smile a little sadly. No one had called and woken them with a call at least and surely that had to be a good thing, it must mean that Mike was stable... or given that the building might well be crawling with cops, that Alberto had been the first to hear of Mike's demise and rather than worry about Wade, he had ordered the place cleared of people and Mike's still-cooling corpse taken away before investigations began.

That wasn't a happy thought and he tried to push it away. The lack of call was a good thing. It had to be.

He moved closer to Wade and was just letting himself enjoy the feeling of being this close to the Brit with permission when the phone on Wade's bedside bleeped. Wade's eyes shot open immediately, rather startling Justin – who knew that would wake him when Justin's movements didn't? But Wade's eyes weren't entirely focused and as he reached behind him and groped for the phone, Justin decided it was a doctor thing, the same way that they as soldiers snapped out of sleep when there was any kind of threat heard. If the text was his mother, service provider or some crappy joke, he'd probably go back to sleep. 

Justin kept a close eye on Wade without saying a word and noticed that when Wade brought the phone in front of him and hesitated just a few seconds too long before pressing the button that brought the text up. Justin wasn't aware that he was holding his breath but he was very aware that Wade was. A text, was that a good thing or a bad thing? 

Wade pressed the button, read the text and blew out the breath he'd been holding. Justin didn't know if the reaction was a good one or not. “Wade? Is that news?”

“Sort of.” Wade put the phone aside and smiled, a little strained. “No change. No sign of infection or rejection, vital signs are stable. And that smart-arse Bryan put a few signs on the door, bio-hazard ones, don't enter without a hazmat suit kinda thing. If the cops find it necessary to go that far down the building it should keep them out for a while.” 

“That's smart,” said Justin honestly. “And that's good. Weren't we all the same when you fixed us?”

“True,” said Wade. “Except I had premium conditions with you guys. Everything was sterile and with wounds like the ones we're talking about, it's so easy to get an infection in them. I had help as well, Gail and Bryan were already there, and a few other guys, the building wasn't blown to shit around us. And I was still worried that I'd lose at least one of you. Maybe more.”

This was news to Justin, who had rather assumed that Wade had simply put them back together with his usual unflappable demeanour, barely even breaking a sweat. “You were?”

“I was.” Wade gave a half-smile. “You don't wanna hear about this.”

“I do,” replied Justin. “It makes me understand a bit better what Mike's likely to go through.” 

Wade pursed his lips a moment. “You were all in bad shape, brought in from the field with a – I suppose it was a synthetic acid-based glue, the best way to describe it to someone without a background in bio-chemistry. Eats through human tissue and I had to remove it any way I was able. That meant removing a lot of skin along with it. Once upon a time it would have been fatal, there wasn't enough skin for a graft on this scale. I noticed that most of the trouble was around the torso, the upper body for the main and that made things a lot easier.” He paused a moment, debating mentioning that there had been other soldiers that hadn't been anywhere near as lucky and hadn't made it, their injuries just too much to deal with before they got to the field hospital that had been set up. 

“Evan's smaller, he took it in the face and throat as well and I had to work on him first because otherwise I would have lost him,” he said slowly. “He was fighting just to breathe and I was pretty stunned that he made it back at all. So was everyone else. They told me they'd lose him before they got him there. Randy took a huge hit to the left side, less so to the right and his back was untouched. He might have been the luckiest of all of you, except that I think he might have tried to pull it off or something because both his hands were a damned mess.”

“He tried to pull it off of Evan,” said Justin vaguely.

Wade looked at him, surprised. “You remember that much?”

“Sort of. I think.” Justin frowned a little as he considered the hazy image that he had of the bomb, the pain and thinking he saw Randy with his fatigues a mess reaching for whatever had covered the smaller man... but perhaps it hadn't happened like that. Maybe he was thinking that because he had just been told about Evan and Randy.

“It's vague,” he said lamely. “What else?”

“Uh... Ted took a hit to the face but I think he had the presence to cover his face with his arms. They were bad below the elbows. His stomach took a good hit and I did more work on his legs than on anyone else's. And then there was you... I suppose I don't have to tell you where you got hit.”

“My right side. My back and neck and jaw at that side, half my chest and stomach – probably not in a perfect straight line.”

Wade gave a chuckle that sounded forced. “No, that was me. Better straight lines than fiddling around.”

“Right.” Justin smiled. “You did a great job on all of us. And Mike's stable – the longer he is, the better he'll be able to fight off infection, right?”

“That's mostly accurate.” Wade frowned. “Although if he's out of it too long, it'll bring its own problems. And there's the broken bones I set as well. They're not gonna heal up overnight, he'll have to just deal with those. You four were lucky that way or else you'd still be on crutches. And then we would have had to wait for the lift.”

There was silence between them for a moment, neither one of them considering that they wouldn't even have been there had they been on crutches. The reality of how close they had been to being in that mess was still too fresh to dwell on practicalities.

Wade closed his eyes a moment, knowing that he should probably consider getting some more sleep, that had been the reason for Gail's message after all. And he was still a little tired, although not so much that he couldn't function. He was dimly aware that he had spent most of the night wrapped around Justin and even if it was a little embarrassing, he had the urge to do it once again, he had slept so much more deeply that way. Justin's arms had been warm, comforting, oddly familiar...

“Justin? Do you ever come into my room during the night?”

He hadn't meant to ask, hadn't even known it was on his mind until he said it. He heard the intake of breath beside him and opened his eyes to see Justin looking startled, perhaps a little afraid. That made Wade even more convinced. If Justin had simply given a yes he would have left it at that – he was pretty sure that all the units would come into the rooms of their handlers to check up on them. But Justin looked more like he had been caught taking naked photos of the man and putting them online.

“I...” Justin licked his lips, stalling for time. When Wade didn't say anything, he started to babble. “I'm sorry! I just wanted to check in on you at first and then I just wanted to touch you, not like that – well, yeah like that but I wasn't gonna and then you were saying my name and I couldn't help myself and you didn't wake up or anything and I didn't think it did any harm and I'm really really sorry--”

“Justin.” Wade managed a smile, although Justin's distress was rather distressing him and in any respect, he wasn't any good at these kinds of conversations. “I kinda knew. I should have addressed it earlier but I didn't know how. We're not supposed to be having any real personal interaction with you. We're supposed to keep it professional, especially me.”

Swallowing, Justin looked down at his hands. “I know.”

“But things are a little different now.”

Justin blinked. “They are?”

“I don't think anyone foresaw things going the way they have. I don't think I knew that there would be this close a connection from both sides. And it's not just about us working together. I wish I knew what it was.” He sighed. “I've never felt this kind of pull before. I never crossed the line with a patient.”

“Is that how you see me? As your patient?”

“You know I don't. I'm not even really a medical doctor, I'm a scientist. But it doesn't mean I don't have that same responsibility when it comes to this kinda thing.” He frowned, sitting up and leaning against the headboard, sleep forgotten. “You know I don't think of you as a patient. You're all better now.”

“Thanks to you,” said Justin quietly, realising that Wade would never make a move on him, no matter what he was saying. His conscience was bothering him too much to let him – but he wanted to be tempted. He practically admitted it. 

Chewing on his lip a moment, Justin made a decision. He steeled himself, then without warning straddled Wade's lap, noticing that Wade's eyes widened a little. He gave Wade ample time to push him off, ask what the hell he was doing, but there was nothing and Justin decided to take that as permission to place his hands on the sides of Wade's face, drawing him in for a kiss. There was a long moment when he was afraid, thinking that Wade would simply sit there unable to show anything in return – and then Wade's arms wrapped around him and Wade was kissing him back with all the passion that he never showed, almost taking Justin by surprise with the ferocity of the response. 

~:~

Gasping at the feeling of Wade’s strong hands resting intimately on his pretty-much naked thighs, Justin mewled rather wantonly as he felt Wade’s tongue take possession of his mouth. And Justin let him have it without any real fight, although his own tongue was eager to join the fray. In moments like this Justin really appreciated how strong Wade was, but for all his broad shoulders, muscled build and strong hands, Justin could feel that Wade’s lips were trembling a little. Wade was a strong man, but even strong men who were so used to taking care of others needed taking care of sometime… and Justin would be infuriated if someone other than himself got the chance to take care of Wade. He’d relish the opportunity to remain by Wade’s side, even when Alberto didn’t need him anymore.

The thought of Alberto not needing him anymore didn’t perturb Justin all that much, but that thought led to another consideration that had his chest constricting painfully and making breathing difficult to breathe--- even without his mouth being otherwise engaged. Would Wade need him when Alberto didn’t? Would they still be obligated to look after them or would they be sent off into the world alone? Or worse… Justin had sudden images of someone flipping a switch and turning him off for good, even though he knew realistically he wasn’t a complete robot so there was no way he could just be switched off for convenience. The thought had him pushing harder into the kiss, feeling through the connection of their lips that this time around he actually had startled Wade somewhat.

Strong hands eased him back Justin made a sound a cross between a whine of frustration and a growl, “Wade—“he started, and then winced when he saw the look on Wade’s face; although the man looked deliciously flushed and swollen-lipped the look in his eyes told Justin that Wade had cottoned on to the fact something was wrong, and there was no way he was getting anything else out of the man unless he fessed up. Swallowing thickly Justin decided to try and distract the other regardless of the fact that he knew it wouldn’t work, “Why’d you stop kissing me?” his voice came out a little more tremulous than he would have liked and for a moment Wade looked almost panicked, as though he was afraid that he had done something to hurt the other. He then shook it off and squared his jaw.

Needless to say that didn’t help Justin at all; the jawline Wade possessed had always attracted his attention and more so than ever he wanted to pay homage to it with his lips. Wade’s hands squeezed his thighs firmly though as he made to lean forward and Justin was sure he could cry with frustration. Damn his mind’s appalling sense of timing for making him think about things like this! Petulantly Justin fixed his gaze downwards to Wade’s chest because admitting this was going to be awkward enough without having to see Wade’s face as he did it. “I was just thinking…” Justin mumbled, and even though they were as close as they were physically Wade still struggled to hear him clearly, “—what if, when this is all over, you don’t need me anymore? That you won’t want to be with me anymore…”

The sensation of Wade’s fingers tightening around his thighs told Justin that the Brit wasn’t pleased with what he was saying, and though he didn’t want to upset Wade or kill their prior mood more than he already had he had to get this off of his chest and into the open. Justin wasn’t an idiot; he had heard some of the normal people they came across at work whispering behind their hands that they seemed too perfect to be true, that they were robots or aliens (that had amused Evan greatly he knew) because of the way they acted and suchlike, and although they may not have been as human as they once were that didn’t mean that they no longer needed reassurance. They still had feelings; they still worried and got upset and angry. They even got afraid, just not when it came to their work.

And Justin knew that he wasn’t just speaking about himself when he thought this: but the prospect of being hurt on a job was nothing compared to the prospect of their handlers being hurt. Yesterday had been a terrifying wake-up call, a reminder of how frail mortality was, and Justin was sure he wasn’t the only active unit who was still holding on to the knowledge that things could have turned out much worse for them than it had done… anyone of their handlers could have been in Mike’s place had they been two minutes later leaving the office. Wade could have been the one injured, and what then? If Wade had been taken out of the equation then all was lost wasn’t it? Maybe that wasn’t fair to Wade’s assistants because they were undoubtedly capable too but that really didn’t matter to Justin.

Wade was the one who had put them back together. Wade was the one he cared about, more so than any other person he had ever encountered he was sure, or that he would encounter in the future. “I was… Saved by you, Wade, because that was what you were supposed to do. You’ve already admitted that you hadn’t planned for things to turn out between us like they will—“in the back of his mind he was aware that he was being a little presumptuous but given the things that had happened between himself and Wade, as well as Wade’s own admissions, he felt entitled to it, “—so what happens when we’re not needed anymore? We can’t function in normal society can we? And yet we can’t expect that you’re going to look after us for the rest of your lives—“he was starting to babble.

A firm finger pressed over his lips, hushing him, and for the first time Justin dared to lift his head to look at Wade--- and he almost fell off of the man’s lap when he realised that Wade looked as though he was about to cry, though through upset or anger Justin had no idea. The darker skinned male froze, completely unmoving and unblinking, pretty much not breathing as he waited for Wade’s response to his words. “Justin… Do you really think I’d just abandon you because you’d finished the job you’ve been set to do?” the sheer amount of hurt in Wade’s low voice made Justin want to rip out his traitorous tongue so that he could never say something to upset the other again. “I thought you knew better than that. I will never abandon you, no matter whether you’re an active or not.”

Those words sent hope blossoming warmly in Justin’s chest, but at the same time that clenching sensation of discomfort just wouldn’t leave him alone. “I don’t want to be a burden on you,” he mumbled against Wade’s finger and Wade exhaled a harsh breath. “Justin, you’ve never been a burden on me. Hell, I like it when you need me for something. I want to be there with you, in the future, whenever, even if you don’t want me like this—“he indicated their state of mostly undress and intimate closeness, “I’ll still want to at least be there as your friend.” Wade sincerely hoped that he was getting through to the other because he had never been very good with emotional issues, and speaking about anything other than his work had never come easy for him. Justin’s eyes closed, the younger silent.

Suddenly Justin’s hands enveloped his, drawing the finger away from his lips slightly. His eyes were slightly shiny as he looked at Wade but the heat therein wasn’t diminished at all. “I don’t think I’ll ever not need you Wade, in this way or any way… So I hope you’re prepared to take responsibility.” Wade’s mouth opened, and then closed, wide eyes staring at the vixen astride him. A small part of him felt he should put his foot down because Justin was obviously upset and this was an issue they should maybe address with their fellow units and handlers… but then Justin’s mouth enveloped his finger and Wade’s ever-present brain seemed to short-circuit entirely. For a moment Justin merely held his finger in the warm recesses of his mouth, but teasingly, he began to treat it most enthusiastically.

~::~

“A day off? Really?” Evan started at Chris slightly from his place at the breakfast table with mild confusion. Of course, given all that had happened the day before last there was undoubtedly a lot of clean-up to do and suchlike but it still seemed bizarre that they would be completely released from their duties to do nothing at all; Evan had been expected that they would be drafted in to help clear up at the very least, even if it was just because they could handle the heavier debris and questionable conditions better than your average worker could. “Yeah,” Chris nodded, standing by the kettle and proceeding to pour himself his second cup of coffee when it had brewed, “Alex is obviously MIA while Mike’s still… yeah, so we don’t have combat, and Christian’s taking care of Alberto as well.”

So that cancelled out their shooting lessons as well, Evan thought to himself as he set his spoon down inside of his now empty bowl of cereal. “What are we going to do today then?” he asked, because although none of them could claim they were worked to the bone their routine was pretty well-set and they were used to it, and free-time was usually limited to the level where a bit of TV/games console/reading could ease the boredom, or one of their weekend days out trips into town. They weren’t even halfway through the week and this unprecedented amount of time with nothing to do meant that Evan was feeling a little lost. Chris cocked his head, seeing the way Evan was chewing his bottom lip. A bottom lip that was as luscious as it looked as he had discovered the other night.

Not that he had kissed the other since, but that wasn’t because he didn’t want to, completely the opposite in fact. He hadn’t kissed Evan since because he was a little worried about forcing himself upon the other. Evan rarely said no to him and there was still a part of Chris that was concerned that even if, in Evan’s gut he knew he didn’t want something he wouldn’t say no because Chris was the one doing it. And Chris wanted Evan to want him as much as he wanted Evan. “Is there anything you’d like to do today?” he asked. Absently he wondered if they could maybe take a drive into the next town over, just the two of them for a change of pace. Dr Adam probably wouldn’t like it but he was the least of Chris’ worries. Besides, Christian was otherwise engaged so he wouldn’t be a problem.

An adorable expression of perplexity settled over Evan’s face, and Chris took a sip of his coffee to try and hide his smile; he had no idea if Evan just had so many ideas that he couldn’t settle on one or whether he had no idea at all what he wanted to do. His smile slid as he considered the second option, cursing himself slightly. That sort of thing shouldn’t make him smile, because it meant that Evan was going to begin to feel awkward again. “How about we do something for lunch?” Chris offered after a moment, hoping to divert the situation before it became more awkward. Evan smiled slightly, “But we always eat lunch together…” Chris immediately waved a hand to silence the other, chuckling, “I don’t mean to cook here, Ev, or to go across to the communal cafeteria—“he started to explain.

Not that the cafeteria was likely to be open after the explosion, even though that had been on the ground and therefore least likely to have been affected by the blast. “I meant for the two of us to go out somewhere different and have something to eat. We can hit a few shops or go see a film afterwards if you want.” For a moment Evan didn’t say anything and then a smile that was equal parts shy and wicked crossed his face, causing a bit of blood to pinken Chris’ cheeks as well, “Why, Chris… are you asking me on a date?” there was the tiniest bit of trepidation in Evan’s eyes even as he said this, a sign that he wasn’t altogether too sure that his joke would be appreciated. Chris however merely cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair, “If that’s how you want to look at it… OK.”

A startled and happy look crossed Evan’s face before he tried to school himself, “I was just teasing—“Chris moved over to him then, leaning down and brushing his lips over Evan’s fleetingly. He tasted of milk and coco-pops and the knowledge made Chris grin; he loved how Evan was unabashed about what foods he liked regardless of how old he was, “You may have been joking but I’m being serious. Evan, will you go on a mini-date with me?” After all they were most likely going to have to return before late afternoon and there was every chance they would end up with some shadow-chaperone if they weren’t careful, but they could enjoy some time together. Glancing coyly down at the ground Evan then looked up and smiled at his handler, “I’d love to go on a mini-date with you, Chris.”

As Evan went to change Chris sought out his phone, dialling through to Alberto directly; the man owed them big-time and Chris felt he was more likely to get the result he wanted if he appealed directly to the boss-man. Christian may have answered the phone but Alberto didn’t let him keep it long, Chris hearing the muffled reluctance in Christian’s voice as he said something to Alberto upon handing it over, clearly worried that Chris was going to dump some work issue upon the man’s lap. Amusedly Chris waited until he heard the Mexican’s voice, mildly unnerved by how tired he sounded, nowhere near as loud and confident as usual. Still, he had almost been blown up, it was bound to be tiresome. Ten minutes later though Chris had secured a successful luncheon out for himself and Evan.

~::~

He felt so sore, so heavy… It felt weird, because although he was pretty sure he was lying down on something solid he felt as though he was floating. What had happened to him? The last thing he remembered was opening that pizza-box… Mike gave Daniel the fright of his life when he suddenly jerked upwards, gasping harshly and failing around as though something was trying to rip out his very soul. The door of the observation room opened and Gail was inside moments later, the door shutting before Alex could follow. A slight struggle ensued, the two medical attendants struggling to calm Mike down without resorting to too much physical pressure or sedatives. In his current state they had no idea what sedatives might do to him since his mind was still in shock even though his body wasn’t.

Or, well, maybe to say it wasn’t was not actually wholly correct; his body was still healing where Wade hadn’t completely rebuilt it, and the trauma would be written into his very genetics until such a time when he had been able to make a full mental and physical recovery. Mike thrashed underneath the man trying to hold him down, unable to understand what was happening even as he took stock of the fact that he was inside… what appeared to be Wade’s lab. He’d only been in it one or two times before but he’d recognise it anywhere. It seemed messier than he remembered though, and that didn’t make sense because he knew that Wade was a veritable Nazi when it came to cleanliness in his workspace. “Mr Mizanin! Mr Mizanin! Please calm down before we have to restrain you—“a voice said.

It sounded oddly garbled, as though he was listening to it from far away at first, but then suddenly everything seemed to just come back to him; sounds were clearer almost to the point of being painful, and his eyes squeezed shut as the dimmed lighting around him seemed to flare up dangerously. Cringing back against the table Mike then went limp, his chest rising and falling rapidly. It was an unnerving sight to witness even though Gail and Daniel knew they should have been celebrating the fact that the man had awoken at all. No one may have mentioned it out loud but the chance had always been there, that Wade hadn’t been fast enough after all or that the damage had been greater in origin than their colleague had realised. Daniel and Gail exchanged a glance and Daniel nodded.

Alex had only been persuaded to leave Mike’s side once in the past four days, to change clothing and shower, the premise of being a source of added infection chance to Mike if he didn’t being the reasoning they had used to get him to go. Upon those events being completed though Alex was back--- the small camper bed set up on the floor in the corner symbolising the devotion Alex felt for his lover. Gail handed him some disinfectant hand-gel and then some rubber gloves. Alex pulled them on without questioning why he had to disinfect his hands when he was only covering them up, and allowed her to pull him into what seemed to be the top-half of a pair of medical scrubs. He was flushed and slightly wild-eyed, having been trying to get through the door to Mike for several minutes.

“Alex, you need to be calm,” gone was every trace of the kind woman who had listened to Alex ramble, about happy times and sad, these past few days until she switched posts with Daniel to watch over their patient. In her place was the serious-eyed, determined scientist who had graduated from university a year earlier than anticipated, and who had essentially been hand-picked by Wade to be one of his team. For a moment Alex was actually afraid of the Asian woman and he nodded, before glancing at the door. He needed to be in there, he needed to see Mike. For all the room was sound-proofed he would swear until his dying day that he could heard Mike calling for him. When Gail deemed him suitable she led him through the door, letting Alex have contact with Mike properly.

“Mikey—“Alex’s knees almost gave out from underneath him as he saw Mike lying there unnaturally still and so panicked it was all but emanating from him like a bad cologne, but awake and breathing, the relief he felt was palpable even though he didn’t like seeing Mike so frightened. “Baby—“his voice shook slightly and Mike turned his head then in an unnervingly sharp movement, locking eyes on Alex. “Lex…” he whispered shakily, sitting upright in another abrupt movement that caused Gail and Daniel to tense… and Alex felt his stomach clench as he saw that Daniel had a syringe and needle in hand, some suspicious looking white liquid inside. Suddenly, in a move that Alex could hardly keep up with, Mike was off of the operating table and in his arms, shaking as he sobbed into Alex’s chest.

Gently Alex sank to the floor, arms tight around Mike and his face buried into the man’s hair. It smelled clean but clinical from where they had been keeping him clean since his operation, and Alex found he felt bereft from the lack of Mike’s usual scent even though the man was in his arms. Tears started down Alex’s own cheeks as he cradled Mike like he was the most precious thing in the world to him (which he was) uncaring that they had an audience to their moment. Ordinarily Mike would never let himself be seen breaking down like this, but the situation had been far from ordinary. As the lovers embraced and cried Daniel and Gail exchanged looks, wondering if Alex had noticed it yet or not. Mike sounded like he was crying, quite heavily, there wasn’t a single tear on the man’s cheeks.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: A Good Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurinaitus and Layfield report to Vince about 'extra activities' Wade had been doing in the damaged office in the company of a bodyguard and discuss their next move. Meanwhile Josh gives Alberto an update-- and Alberto does something for him that he never expected.

No one had been given much to do in the last three days, not since the explosion. Wade of course had been spending a lot of time at the corporations now-deserted (in appearance at least) to keep an eye on Mike and Justin had accompanied him on all of these jaunts. He had seen the bed that Alex had made in the corner and strictly speaking it was against the rules but in this case Wade had turned a blind eye, his gaze going over to Justin whenever he contemplated telling Alex it was probably an infection risk. As it happened the three of them entrusted to the job of watching over Mike were a lot more aware of the conditions he had been forced to work under and that made them extremely vigilant; there had been a point when Wade thought he had seen the beginnings of an infection or a possible rejection of the synthetic skin he had used on Mike – it was essentially a transplant after all and such things happened – but the signs vanished after a few hours and a thorough sterilisation of the area. It hadn't been ideal but Wade thought of it as field surgery and that was never under good circumstances.

Mike seemed to be healing but Wade would probably feel a whole lot better if he'd wake up.

While Wade did that, watched by Justin, the rest of them went to the top floor to see what they could observe for themselves, anything that might help them. There wasn't much. The police had taken away the evidence that they had, fortunately they had never had reason to insist on going where Wade's lab was and the bio-hazard warnings had put them off further. They could see more or less where the bomb had been thanks to their limited prior knowledge of the building and how powerful it had been. Based on the injuries, Chris theorised the position Mike had been in when he opened the box, not that he supposed it mattered but on the other hand, it made a difference to them. The reminder of what might have happened had he rested the box on his knee and looked into it as he opened it was all around them. Not even Wade could have saved him from that.

“Probably he was sitting on the end of the couch, looking at whatever he had to on his laptop maybe balanced on the arm while he reached over for the food.” John looked sombre as he surveyed the damage. “The blast seems to have pushed the couch away from the main explosion, that's probably what saved his life. 

“Alberto was just opening the doors I think, they blew back in,” added Evan, basing the statement on what he had seen on the day itself. 

“The pizza dude had to know that there was a bomb in that box, they don't just deliver anything for an extra fifty and there's no store who took an order for here as far as we know, the cops haven't ID'd the uniform and I'll bet they won't either.” Cody looked around him at the devastation. “The guy had to have balls of steel.”

“Or suicidal tendencies,” added Chris. “If Christian had been up here, or if Mike had opened the box while he was still here to check the toppings, he would have been caught in it too. He's either over-confident or else he's a real risk-taker.”

“A calculated risk,” said John. “Most people don't open the pizza 'til the guy's gone.”

“Still, I don't think that's a calculated risk,” countered Chris. “Far too chancy. I think if he knew, he's crazy. And I don't see that he couldn't have known. Otherwise, what's to stop him opening it himself?”

“If he was under orders from someone, then he might not have done,” said Randy. “He didn't seem nervous. More cheerful. Perhaps he works for the guys after Christian and was just told to deliver, pay no attention.”

“I hope that's the case,” said Chris. “Because otherwise, we've got a man out there who's quite willing to take the most breathtaking risks and that's the last person we want against us. Unpredictable.”

“What's the old saying?” Ted was almost smirking as he looked back at Chris, but his eyes were serious. “Always be glad when you meet a person ready to die for his cause, because you and he have the same goal.”

The three units nodded. “We need to stop this,” added Randy. 

“If they do work for Lauriniatis, they might turn up on company records.” John tapped his fingers against his thigh. “We'll check that out. There's nothing else we can do in here. Nothing left to see. Is Alberto planning a clean-up?”

“Wade won't let him,” said Chris. “Not until he thinks it's safe to move Mike and then we can have people in. Alberto put out some story about an independent inquiry into the bombing before he goes about repairing the building.”

“Then we go back to the apartments and do our homework from there,” said John. Knowing that Mike was somewhere beneath them fighting for his life... he either wanted to be there to silently cheer him on or else he wanted to leave the doctors in peace to get on with it.

Adam made several visits, insisting on seeing everyone alone more than once. He got quite frustrated that he never managed to catch either Wade or Justin, but he did manage to get everyone else in for a session and reported the same thing to the handlers when he met with the three of them in a group; frustration that it had happened at all, anger that their handlers could have been injured or worse. They were enraged that their acquaintance had been injured and their boss caught up in it and were anxious to exact revenge as soon as they had the chance.

“You expected something else?” asked John wryly. “It's not like they're without emotion just because they're without memory. If anything, we've given them more emotion with all the attachment issues that seemed such a good idea.”

“More emotions in certain areas,” Adam corrected. “Certainly we want the attachment but we need them to be ruthless when it comes to their targets. I'm not sure that this is the best thing, this anger toward them.”

“They don't have a choice,” Chris pointed out. “If they're gonna be so protective of us, then they're gonna be hostile to anyone that might harm us. They're not stupid and they know we're potentially targets if anyone gets wind of what's been going on. There's a reason that this campaign's been started and it gels with what Josh said about them thinking Wade's come up with something to change the face of modern warfare as we know it – which he has I suppose, if not in the way they think. They want Alberto out of the way, I don't know why target Christian rather than him but whatever the plan, we're in the way of it. At least once with the assassin and they might think twice with us being there when the bomb went off. So yeah, we're targets and they know it and you expect them not to have an emotion about that?”

Adam frowned. “I'm well aware of how the mind works Chris,” he said rather sharply, he never had liked being corrected or preached to. “I'm concerned that it might cloud their missions is all. They're here to do a job.”

“Don't you think they can then?” retorted Chris. “I do. When it comes to time, they'll put all emotion aside and do what they're ordered, or what's right for the mission. We saw them in action, remember? They followed orders, they did what they had to do and they didn't bother to wonder where the bomb had come from or how it might have gotten there until the job in front of them was done.”

He didn't mention the kiss Evan had planted on him before he went to do the job that was in front of him, or the way that Justin hadn't wanted Wade to go into the building deeper when he was called. Nor did he mention that Randy had seemed torn between the orders he was given and the fact that John was still in a potentially unsafe position. 

Adam regarded him mildly. “They want to go after Lauriniatis right away.”

This was news and all three handlers looked back at him. Adam smiled, pleased to have the full attention of the room. “They know as much as you do, although I suggested to Alberto it might not be for the best for them to know everything until we were sure that they wouldn't take matters into their own hands. It seems that his faith was paid off this time though. Anyway, they would like to go after him. The reason they haven't is because they haven't been ordered.”

“We haven't been ordered either,” said John. “No evidence that the bomb came from Lauriniatis yet, if it did he'll be under guard and pretty jumpy and it's – well, it's a different MO. A highly trained assassin and then a random bombing? It's like he failed once and panicked and that just seems odd to me.”

Adam shrugged. “Maybe. But perhaps he was going for the element of surprise. You're right of course, not to mention that something so soon after the bombing would look highly suspicious. I doubt it's reason that kept Alberto from striking back though. When it comes to Christian, he's not what you'd call reasonable.”

“What do you think?” asked Chris. He had known Christian longer than any of the other handlers and he and Christian and Adam had something of a history, mostly far back in the past as relatively good friends until their lives took different turns, but he thought he knew how Christian thought pretty well. And Adam too.

“If it were up to me, I'd take down Lauriniatis just to be sure that it didn't happen again.” Adam's smile didn't reach his eyes and Chris recalled that although he had drifted somewhat from their friendship, Adam and Christian had been joined at the hip before he came along and the best of friends after that as well. Adam was nowhere near as unaffected as he pretended to be. “I'm not into politics and the like, I'd need to know that there was a potential threat out of the way. Then again, we don't know enough. We know he wasn't working alone and that Christian would still have to watch his back. On the other hand, if he were politically and financially ruined, then it would take down all associates he has in this vendetta.” 

Adam drummed his fingers against the arm of the chair, for the first time since they had begun this looking like he wasn't in psychiatrist mode. “Alberto's always seen the big picture, he's the kind of man that can look ahead not just vaguely but in specifics and he's always played the long game. But that's not me. I'm a lot more impulsive and I lash out. I'd have to react. And Alberto will as well, except that he'll do so in his own time – and I expect that the end results will be a whole lot more devastating.”

~:~

Aside from Adam's visits, they were left pretty much to themselves. Alberto made some calls to the handlers, Christian made one or two to the units. John asked for someone to get them the records of Lauriniatis's employees, preferably with pictures attached and he agreed to get hackers on it right away. They also asked to speak with Josh, which Alberto denied on the basis that if anyone found where the information was coming from, it would dry up. Not to mention that since things had turned ugly, Josh might be in real trouble if his real loyalties were revealed. 

He added, almost as an afterthought, that when Wade was done with Mike, Alberto had a patient that he would like Wade to look at and give some kind of diagnosis. And then he hung up without a farewell, leaving John, who he had been speaking to at the time, in a less than great humour. He barely thought about the meaning of the last words, just that they weren't what they should have been. 

He did however pass on the message. Wade had taken to returning back to the apartments after eight and picking up fast food on the way home and after the second day they had all fallen into the comfortable routine of waiting for him to return in the communal area downstairs and eating as a group, hoping to hear good news from Wade and when told there was no change, falling to either discussing their theories over the bombing and when that proved to be frustrating or fruitless, making small talk. After the first time they did it, every one of the eight was privately sure they weren't the only one that was having a thing with their room mate. 

On the fourth day after the explosion, things were normal as ever. Cody and John sat on one couch, with Randy balanced on the arm beside John and Ted leaning against the couch beside Cody's feet like a faithful puppy. Wade and Justin had the other couch, Wade with his long legs stretched out while Justin had one tucked beneath him. Chris sat on the floor with his back leaning on the wall while Evan lay on his stomach, causing any number of comments of how he could eat that way. That night Wade had brought home Thai curry for all and there was animated discussion throughout the meal, right up until they were half-way through it and Wade's phone suddenly started ringing.

The room went silent as Wade stood up, putting his plate on the nearest available surface while he grabbed his phone from his pocket. There was no jokey ringtone and that only seemed to compound the solemnity. They all knew it had to be either Gail or Daniel and that meant that there was news on Mike, one way or the other. 

“Gail,” said Wade as he answered, a cursory glance at the screen telling him who it was. He listened for a moment, his brow creased in a frown that no one knew how to interpret. It could have been thoughtful or concerned or even depressed, but it hadn't changed from the moment he answered and that could mean anything.

“I'm on my way,” said Wade and cut off the phone, shoving it back into his pocket, Justin getting to his feet without having to be asked. Wade took a couple of steps to the door, apparently having forgotten everyone else in the room and only reminded when there was a chorus of protest and curiosity from the group. 

He looked over at them, expression still closed. “Mike just woke up.”

There was a moment of silence as the news was digested, then a sudden explosion of noise. Given how cautious Wade still seemed, they had almost expected the worst. Curry was spilled and subsequently ignored as high-fives were exchanged, Cody bounced to his feet and all but crushed Ted in a joyful hug, Chris got up and started jumping on the spot as if he were too excited to stay still. Wade paused for a moment before he had to leave and check on his patient, observing the scene with a smile growing on his face. With all the shouting, cheering, clapping and dancing that was going on in the room, there was no way that anyone could call their units emotionless, not by a long shot. And he for one had never been more pleased about it. 

Justin's hand took his and he remembered that he had a job to do. The others could wait for their answers, but he needed to check up on Mike right away. And with the way everyone else was acting, he couldn't help but allow the hope he didn't usually allow himself until he knew everything was fine to make an appearance.

~:~

Vince McMahon didn't really like to be seen meeting with either Lauriniatis or Layfield too much. Once in a while was fine, he was the mayor and these were prominent citizens. Too much however and it gave rise to speculation about just why they were meeting. He didn't need to be accused of bias, he certainly didn't need to be accused of taking backhanders. Those kinds of allegations lost men mayoral careers all the time and no matter how comfortably off he was, he enjoyed the power and prestige of being in charge. And the way things had been in the city for the last few days, he would much rather have plenty of distance between him and them. People were asking questions and not just the normal few who always had something to gripe about when it came to politics. With what had happened to Del Rio, people who didn't give a shit who the mayor was were interested and should his involvement become known, they were just the type who would be baying for blood. 

But it needed to be sorted out, he could reluctantly admit to that and so he scheduled a meeting for all of them. He had thought long and hard about where it could be held. In public was out, he didn't want to be seen to be friendly with them if it al hit the fan in a few days and there was always the risk of being overheard. He considered going to one of their homes and then wondered what would happen if there were suspicions and they were being followed – if they turned up at his house and were seen, that was worse than being seen out in public because it looked underhand. In the end he told them to turn up at his office and gave them the cover that Lauriniatis was considering buying some plots of real estate from Layfield and turning them into another office building, discussing the matter with Vince because he would know what regulations needed to be met and the like. Some might have said it was over the top, but Vince always covered his ass and he always came out smelling of roses, no matter who else crashed and burned around him. It was the number one rule of politics. 

Lauriniatis looked like shit when he showed up early, mumbling some story to Vince's secretary about how he shouldn't have tried to hang the plasma screen in the spare room by himself. It sounded fake as hell to Vince and the man's appearance only served to heighten his self-concern. If he'd been fucked over by Del Rio's goons, then Vince was washing his hands of it all and the pair of them could go to hell together. 

Layfield arrived only moments later and Vince could hear him even within his office, the man liked people to know when he was around that was for sure. Sighing slightly, he went over to the door to greet his final guest, turning his attention to his secretary a moment. “Josh, finish typing up those reports before you leave,” he said shortly. Josh nodded, something flashing in his eyes but Vince didn't give it a thought. He had done his research on Josh before he hired him, the man lived alone and spent most of his free time at a hospital in the city where his lover still lingered, moved to Chicago only because of the excellent reputation of the hospital he spent all of his money on. Vince refused to put Josh's lover on his medical insurance, he had already been like that when Josh started and since apparently the injury occurred in a militia, it was there duty that it was paid for. When he considered it, which wasn't often, he was surprised they hadn't simply pulled the plug on him and paid out the compensation, it was probably cheaper. Then again, there were routes to go through with that kind of thing and probably Josh was fighting it all the way. 

It wasn't that Vince especially wanted the reports, or cared if they were finished that night. Josh might look a little bookish but he wasn't weak by any means and he wasn't stupid either; he could be counted on not to burst in or call cops if he heard shouting, he probably would if he heard more and could probably rescue Vince should he need it, if Laurinaitis simply flipped out or Layfield try his strong-arm shit. And he didn't open his mouth to cops.

He had deliberately booked them as the last appointment of the day, making it look to a casual observer that the group had only been there maybe a half-hour together. He intended that should he hear even a whisper of a problem, his security system might suffer an error that eliminated the cameras and what they had taped. He sat back in his chair, glaring at Layfield, then at Lauriniatis. “I don't suppose I have to tell you what the main topic of conversation is in the city right now.”

Layfield growled. “It was his damned fool fault. I told him to wait it out, keep calm and act like nothing's wrong. And then Del Rio's goddamned building's blown half way to hell and back!”

“I believe it's not that badly damaged, save for the top two or three floors where the blast was.” Vince eyed Lauriniatis. He had been right, the man was simply no good at the game of intimidation no matter how good he was at making money. Del Rio had bettered him there and looked about to make him bankrupt. A shame, but Del Rio knew how to look ahead, he didn't make friends and he didn't take prisoners. Maybe he should tell Lauriniatis to start stashing his assets...? No, knowing Johnny, he probably already had. 

“The damage isn't the point.” Layfield glared at Lauriniatis and the older man tried not to cringe back a little. “The point is, they knew we had someone after blondie and then the guy delivering the pizza asked for blondie! That guy's gonna have more protection than a nun's cunt and even if we get at him, pinning it on Bertie ain't gonna fly no more. Everyone and his dog knows someone's after the chew-toy.”

“They might still think it was Del Rio trying to shake off suspicions...”

Johnny hadn't said it loudly and was quickly shouted down by Layfield. “He blew up his own building and himself, even though he knew his lover-boy wasn't around and wouldn't even get a scratch. Even if that flew, him being there and getting injured means that it won't. A perfectly good plan, fucked up by your impatience!”

Johnny hung his head for a second before catching himself and straightening. “At least I did something and this'll severely impair him for the moment.”

“Not really,” commented Vince, knowing he was being evil and unable to help himself. “Just a flesh wound really.” 

Layfield huffed. “We got three choices here boys. We keep on going, even though we ain't getting to our target in a million years, not now we warned him we're a-coming with a big damn gesture that didn't even work. Or we give up, let Del Rio patent his goddamned super-weapon, whatever it might be, we ain't got any intel at all on any new weapon. Or else we change the target and that don't make a lick of sense.”

Lauriniatis frowned. “Why not?”

“We want to make sure Del Rio doesn't get the patent before we do. Him under investigation and grieving, yeah, we could have snagged it or sabotaged it, or even paid for it. Alberto buys the farm, there's a ton of people there to keep on going. Hell, enough of them showed when he was only bruised. Don't matter who the head is as long as the head's working as it should be and we'd have the same problem. And that goes for Barrett, if he's the one working on it, which we have reason to believe he is. He'll leave notes, programmes, the stages and the finished product. You know how it is boys, takes a genius to come up with these things and a monkey to copy them and knock 'em out cheap. Right Johnny?”

“Right,” agreed Lauriniatis, with the feeling that the statement was actually a criticism but not quite seeing how. 

“So killing ain't working for us now.” Layfield blew out a long breath. “But I hate to see so much work and so much profit going to waste because Del Rio takes down Johnny's corporation. Bertie ain't gonna play ball with us y'know.”

“So, there has to be some way to take him down and save my corporation.” Lauriniatis looked eager suddenly, hopeful. “I've had a guy staking out the building since the bomb---”

“Not some guy with red and green hair holding a pizza was it?” asked Layfield with a sneer. “That seems to be your usual MO Johnny.”

“Someone else,” replied Johnny stiffly. “There's been some activity. The cops have been there, also a smallish group I assume were checking on the place for Alberto--”

“Keep those bombshell's coming Johnny,” said Layfield with vicious amusement.

“But Barrett's also been in there a few times, for hours on end. Takes a bodyguard. There's a couple of others go in and leave together, man and a woman, but they only leave while Barrett's already in there.” Lauriniatis smirked, his eyes gleaming. “I think they're scared of leaving whatever they're working on.”

“But they'll move it soon.” Layfield considered. “They'll have to if there's any hope of sorting the building out. Maybe it's this whatever it is that threw the shits into Johnny.”

~:~

“Mike?” the brunette’s head turned with a swift movement that would probably have caused him whiplash prior to the explosion, eyes narrowing before his posture and expression relaxed upon seeing Wade. Thus far, as far as Alex, Gail and Daniel could tell, mentally speaking he seemed perfectly proficient (memory terms, and general understanding anyway). “Wade…” Mike’s voice sounded slightly clipped, as though he couldn’t quite remember how to speak. Then again, over 72 hours in a coma without doing any bodily functions it was probably did make it difficult to remember what to do. “How are you?” Wade asked, seeing that Mike had been dressed in fresh clothing recently, the scientist mildly surprised to see Mike in a causal t-shirt/hoody ensemble. He’d never seen him in one before.

The lawyer was always in shirts and ties, even if he did wear jeans, and more often than not he had a suit jacket or waistcoat along with it. Glancing at his assistants present Wade could see the two looked slightly uneasy and he supposed that they had most likely tried to tell Alex that they shouldn’t be introducing outside sources into the environment, even if that introduced component happened to be a clean pair of clothes. But, undoubtedly, Alex’s tenacious stubbornness (and most likely) compassion from the other two scientists had been enough for them to grant this request at least. The fact that Alex was inside of the chamber was also a cause of concern for Wade--- he was just glad that the man was wearing scrubs and at least took heed about washing his hands and such.

“I’m… alright,” Mike said, a frown marring his recently restored face. Alex’s stomach dropped a little as he noticed the adorable little wrinkle that appeared in Mike’s forehead when he frowned was no longer apparent, but small changes like that were perfectly acceptable sacrifices to make for the fact that Mike was now up and about, looking as perfect as he used to. Nodding, Wade washed his own hands and then applied anti-bacterial gel, allowing that the few seconds to dry before he pulled turned to Justin--- who handed a stethoscope to him. Quirking a small smile and nod of thanks at Justin when he noticed the other had indeed located his field kit-bag Wade then moved over to Mike. Wade knew that his using of the original hands-on tool to do checks seemed silly to most who worked with him.

However, in Wade’s humble opinion, there was no better feeling than hearing for yourself how the patient was. He’d run the advanced checks afterwards but for now it was going to be the good old elbow-grease approach that he used. “Mike, would you lift your shirt up please?” he then paused and amended, “Actually, would you take it off?” he pretended not to see the way Alex frowned at the question, and although he wasn’t pleased that Justin apparently felt threatened enough even despite the situation to frown too, in his case he had to fight a smile. Mike shrugged and obeyed, seeming to get stuck a moment wherein Daniel made to help him--- but backed off quickly when Alex firmly planted himself between the man and his lover and offered him the aid needed to remove the item.

The awkwardness, much like with Justin and the others, reminded Wade of a new-born, although he could hardly have called any of them, or Mike, as vulnerable and helpless as a new-born babe. There was one crucial difference between Mike and the others though: Mike had not been engineered as a weapon. Any enhancements he received had been the basics that had been already built into what materials Wade had had at his disposal. His eyes for instance; they would be as good as Evan’s because they were the only sort Wade had available, and his ears would be a touch better than they had as well, but he didn’t have a comm fitted underneath his skin or the marksmanship ability and weapons knowledge that their boys had. Wade approached Mike slowly so as not to startle the other.

Mike didn’t flinch when Wade touched him but he tensed understandably; there was little question that he at least most likely remembered what had happened to him, if his mind hadn’t done its best to use its natural defences and block the trauma out, and the prospect of being touched by anyone but Alex was probably going to be difficult for Mike to comprehend in the immediate future. Alex was at the man’s side, one hand wrapped around one of Mike’s, and Mike’s fingers were linked tightly through Alex’s. Wade absently suspected that should Alex try to pull away he would most likely have his wrist accidentally dislocated because Mike wasn’t about to let him go anywhere. Wade moved the stethoscope, listening to Mike’s newly repaired chest and breathing apparatus, results told to Justin.

Daniel and Gail were attempting to appear unobtrusive but Wade knew for a fact that they were listening to every single piece of data he gave to Justin to record onto the chart he had instructed him to take out of the bag with his other equipment. Finishing with Mike’s chest (and as far as Wade’s humble opinion told him that had fused well with what natural material had been left, but their other computer equipment would allow them to know for definite) Wade then continued his examination, being thorough and not rushing even though the time was getting on. Mike was silent as he was prodded and pulled, and honestly the silence was a little unnerving for Alex. Mike was a motor-mouth, always had been, and for him to be so quiet… he squeezed Mike’s hand and offered a gentle smile.

Mike blinked a few times and smiled back--- and at least that smile was the same. Wade was a damned master really, because if you hadn’t had known Mike had had such a terrible event occur to him you wouldn’t know his face and most of his body had been reconstructed. Glancing at Justin he exhaled a gentle, inaudible breath; for the first time he truly understood what they had been through, how difficult things must be for them. He’d always had a healthy measure of cautious awareness and respect for the men, but his sympathy in retrospect seemed really half-assed. And yet, Justin seemed happy, happiest when he was in Wade’s company. Yes, even he had noticed that through the time he saw them in the mornings. And he didn’t doubt that it was the same for the other units/handlers too.

When Wade turned his attention to the arm he had attached (and Alex felt awful for hesitating in looking a moment out of fear of some ghastly horror-movie style stitching being present even though he knew it wouldn’t be) Mike finally seemed to respond, twitching just slightly as though he was resisting the urge to push Wade away. Immediately the doctor paused, which had everyone else stilling in wary readiness--- Justin however looked tensed, ready to move the second something he deemed dangerous or unacceptable to Wade happened. “Does it hurt?” the Manchester native asked softly and Mike hesitated a moment before shaking his head, “No… Sorry.” Alex quirked a wan smile as he thought about how Mike would normally rather dance around the issue then offer an honest apology.

Admitting he was wrong had never come easy to the lawyer, although he always took responsibility for any muck-ups he did make. “It’s quite alright,” Wade murmured, keen eyes returning to his task as he gently straightened and flexed Mike’s arm, rotating his shoulder to check the ease of his shoulder socket and rotator cuffs, and then finally down to his fingers. He had Mike grip a few objects placed next to him, and throw a small tennis-ball up and down to have a miniature testing of his reflexes. After an hour had passed, possibly more at Alex’s best guess since he had left his watch at home and there was no clock in the room, Wade finally drew away from Mike and motioned that he could put his shirt back on. Once the man was covered Wade used some more gel and packed his kit away.

“Tomorrow we’ll need to do thorough testing,” Wade told Alex pointedly and Alex listened attentively even as Mike seemed to be gazing across the room with apparent dispassion, as though he wasn’t paying attention at all. Alex knew that couldn’t be true though; Mike was very image conscious and so paid attention to what people thought about him or said about him, and he didn’t mean that derisively towards his lover. He liked that Mike cared, because he knew that over time it was only what he thought that mattered to the lawyer. “We’ll need to use the back-up lab I think…” they couldn’t keep the police out forever, and the back-up lab had the equipment they needed to do the tests. Alex hesitated a moment and then nodded; as long as it helped Mike recover it didn’t matter where it was.

“What’s the time Daniel?” Wade asked; he never wore a watch when he was inside the operating chamber but he knew his assistant did, and as usual the other didn’t disappoint, “It’s 11:17:57.” The little quirk of telling time down to the last second was one of the first things you had to get used to with Daniel--- that and the fact he, like Cody, displayed their inner-geek by having the insignias of their favourite graphic novel paraphernalia embossed on their work equipment. Wade nodded and Justin noted the time down, eyes focused on his lover. They had been there over two and a half hours and he was worried that Wade was going to end up burning the all-night-oil after this, just when he had been doing so well at actually getting some semblance of a real sleeping pattern going.

“Dr Adam will want to see him too,” Wade continued as he and his assistants moved around gathering up anything that would have eyebrows raised when the clean-up team came through to remove to the other lab for the time being. It was located in the basement of the apartment complex, put there predominantly for Wade’s benefit if there was ever a reason he couldn’t get to the lab at the Corp… looked as though Alberto’s fastidiousness about providing for him had really come in handy now. “So why don’t you come and see me first thing and we can get this sorted?” he asked him, Alex nodding in response and glancing at Mike; he was admittedly more worried about what Adam might end up dragging Mike through mentally in his quest to see whether the other was ‘alright’ or not.

“Alright, just come by the apartments--- Justin and I should be awake,” he told him with a kindly smile and Alex nodded again; his throat was so clogged with emotion he couldn’t even bring his voice to work. It was one thing to have Mike up and talking, it was another for Wade to confirm that the man was actually OK, and from the looks of things going to recover quite nicely. “Is it… is he OK to go outside yet?” Alex asked, voice rasping slightly when he finally managed to get it working. The last thing he wanted to do was take Mike outside and have some airborne germs getting the other and causing some infection or illness that would have everything thrown back to post-operation status. “It should be fine,” Wade assured, but then reached into a nearby drawer absently, pulling something out.

“If you’re really worried you can use this,” it was a surgical mask inside of a sealed packet, and for a moment Alex had a mental image of those Asian cities wherein most of their population wore those masks when they had colds, or because of radiation lingering in the area. “I think he’ll be OK,” he murmured softly; the chances of someone seeing them was unlikely but Alex didn’t want to advertise that Mike wasn’t quite 100% at the moment to anyone. Wade nodded, and then found himself startled once again as Alex embraced him tightly. “I don’t know how I could ever repay you,” Alex mumbled and Wade awkwardly returned the hug and then gently pushed him backward with a stern look on his face, but his lips were fighting an amused smile, “Just look after him Alex. That’ll be thanks enough.”

~::~

“Is it really OK to leave Wade to deal with all that?” Daniel asked Gail as they waved their boss off, having loaded all of the equipment and files from the lab into the car the pair had arrived in and leaving them to deal with it. Gail yawned tiredly behind her hand and shrugged, rolling her shoulders out gently, “He said to leave it to him, so we should leave it to him.” The Asian woman smiled, days of tension melting from her face; Daniel knew she had been keeping up a good front for Alex’s sake but she had been as worried as any of them about what would happen should Mike not pull through. Mike and Alex had set off before Wade, the doctor having wanted to ensure he was settled into the car alright and to remind them of the plans for the following day before they headed off home too.

“Need a lift home?” Daniel asked, knowing full well that Gail’s car had broken down two days prior and so she had been bussing it to work. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be a problem but it was late and he’d much rather she didn’t walk around on her own; self-defence could only get you so far, especially if you were ganged up on. Gail sent him a ruefully amused look and Daniel grinned back, “You sure your wife won’t mind?” she teased and Daniel rolled his eyes with fond exasperation; Gail and his wife were actually really good friends, and it was a well-known in-house secret to those who knew her well that Gail had a girlfriend. A fitness trainer named Kaitlin who had actually taken the self-defence class Gail had booked in for. “Considering it’s you I think she’ll be fine with it,” he said.

“How’s things going with Brie and Nikki?” she asked, having met Daniel’s wife’s twin sister on a few occasions. She too was married and expecting her first child, though Gail couldn’t say she’d met Daniel’s brother-in-law too often, she knew his name was Dave or something like that. “Brie’s good,” Daniel nodded, “Nikki’s getting pissed off with the morning-sickness and everything already--- though she doesn’t take kindly to reminders that she’s got a few months more to go yet,” he chuckled and the pair shook their heads in amusement. Gail was pleased Brie was so at ease in her relationship with her husband, because Gail counted her fellow lab-rat as one of the only friends she had in the Corp. who was genuine; most other people sucked up as they wanted her approval or in her panties.

“How’s Kay?” Daniel asked in turn as he paused at a red-light, Gail sighing softly as she quirked a small smile, “Being driven crazy by all of the paper-work for the new gym she’s opening. I keep telling her it’s really not that hard—“and financially speaking independently and thanks to Gail, she didn’t have to worry on the money front, “—but you know how she is.” Oh yes; there was a woman who seemed calm and cool but she could flid out at the smallest thing. “I hope it works out for her; she’s been talking about opening her own gym and fitness school for a long time now,” Daniel said as he started the car again, the pair falling into companionable silence as they continued on the remainder of the drive towards Gail’s home. The lights were off when she arrived but she wasn’t surprised by it.

Giving Daniel a playful light punch on the arm Gail said, “I guess it’ll depend on whether I see you tomorrow then if the lab’s gonna be out of commission,” even they hadn’t been permitted to go to the apartments as of yet and they actually knew the ins-and-outs of what had been done to half of the men living in the space. Pouting and pretending to be mortally wounded Daniel nodded and then waved her off, “I’ll call you if I hear anything first,” he offered. The Asian woman waved and Daniel did the gentlemanly thing and waited until she was inside before starting his car once more and continuing the last leg of the journey home. He hadn’t been home for more than a shower and change of clothing since the incident with Mike and he was eagerly anticipating sleeping in his bed.

~::~

“That’s really good news about Mike,” Randy commented lazily from where he was shrugging out of his t-shirt across the room. They had hung around in Evan and Chris’ apartment until Wade and Justin had returned, Justin, Randy and Ted going to help move the equipment inside as Evan volunteered to run the paper copies and discs etc. into Wade’s apartment; help the man had gladly accepted as that meant he could talk to the handlers all in one and they could tell their units so he wouldn’t have to. It wasn’t until they had reached the safety of the apartments that Wade had realised just how tired he was and the others could see it, so they merely offered their congratulations and they let the man go, making themselves scarce back to their own apartments once the units had finished helping out.

“It is isn’t it?” John asked with a smile, and Randy felt his stomach flip-flop at the sight of the dimples John possessed. He didn’t recall having seen many grown men with dimples the way John had them, and he was firmly of the opinion that even if he had he could bet they wouldn’t look as hot as they did on John. John was already in his boxers and was doing a few sit-ups across the room; he’d been letting his exercises fall by the wayside recently and so he was trying to get into the swing of them again. Randy was admiring the view most eagerly, revelling in the way John’s abs and thigh muscles bunched and flexed, the teasing glimpses of his smooth back also making the younger man’s stomach squeeze. Well, mostly smooth back… the scratches Randy had left were just faintly visible.

He’d been terrified at the time when he had done them, almost losing the moment completely, but when he had realised the positive effect they had had upon John he had managed to calm down enough to let the other draw his attention back once more. The more they made love the more confident Randy felt in what his limits were and what John’s were, although he still didn’t feel perfectly comfortable with the thought of causing John true pain inadvertently. A few scratches were one thing because they didn’t hurt long, but having a cock up your ass… It hurt there was no denying it, even though Randy personally would have considered it to be a fucking amazing sort of hurt. When John finally finished his exercises and went to freshen up Randy moved over to the other’s bed absently.

Laying down upon the fresh covers Randy absently considered how things had changed between himself and John, but for the better; he felt much more connected to the man now, and he felt that he had well and truly established himself in John’s life… and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to monopolise as much of John as he possibly could. Sometimes it was all he could do to even let the other out of bed in the morning after sleeping beside him, and every time he saw the man smile at him, or heard him calling his name out in that strangled, gasping way he did just before he climaxed--- Randy was pretty damned sure that he could never let John go, even if the man turned around tomorrow and said that he had fallen for someone else. The mere thought made his throat tighten.

“You’re looking kinda serious there,” John commented lightly as he got into bed besides Randy, quirking a slight smile when the other jumped suddenly as though he hadn’t even realised that John was there--- and ordinarily it was impossible to sneak up on the other man. Randy immediately drew John against his chest so that the other was partially laid over him, his hand gently massaging the back of John’s shoulder, fingers subconsciously seeking, as they always did, the spot where the scars sometimes appeared. “I was just thinking that I’m lucky to have you,” he said honestly, “About how lucky we all are… and how lucky Mike is that Alex reacted as quickly as he did.” Anyone who doubted the validity of the feelings two men could have for one another really needed to meet those two.

~::~

Walking back towards his car Josh was careful to keep his stride and manner light and casual, his one hand holding lightly to the handle of his briefcase as the other reached into his pocket for his car-keys. He had to get out of there before Vince and his ‘acquaintances’ finished with their talk, but he had managed to linger long enough to get the interesting part of the conversation on tape. Vince knew how intercoms worked, you’d seriously think that the man would guard his more closely… or at least remember to turn it off on his end when he had people in the office and he was talking about things he didn’t want anyone to hear. Luckily Josh had managed to slip a blank tape in to record, so it anyone checked the other they’d heard the day’s dealings up until Vince giving him his last task.

Alberto would pay handsomely for this confirmation and Josh knew it; technically speaking if he handed it over to an outside police force, explaining how the local one was corrupt it’d be enough to have them put away at least for a while alone but if they had more evidence to go along with it… Well, everything Del Rio’s team had gotten for themselves and every other report Josh had given would be enough, undoubtedly, to have them sent down for good and their companies dismembered and scattered among whatever stockholders and suchlike that they had left by the time the scandal was all out in the open. Placing his briefcase into the passenger seat Josh exhaled a gentle breath as he touched the picture that was housed in his glove-box. It was old now, worn with age and touch.

It was the last picture that he and Jack had taken together before the other had been placed into his comatose state. Wade had been busy lately, but damn it Josh had almost reached the monetary target he had set for himself, and if he had to get down on bended knee and beg for the Brit to do whatever he could to save Jack he’d do it. Hell, Wade could demand he strip naked and run through the streets screaming adoration for him just to consider it… and Josh would still do it. Nothing else mattered to the brunette, not even the threats to his own safety doing what he was doing, as long as Jack got better. Starting the car Josh reversed and started off down the road, clearing the corner just as Laurinitus stepped out of the office. Not that he was too worried about that one noticing him.

Since Alberto was no longer at the office Justin took the long, deliberately scenic route (just in case he was followed, although he hadn’t had even the slightest indication that that had occurred or was even being considered) towards where Alberto and his lover lived away from their office-based penthouse style apartment. Parking up outside he moved up to the main gates, waving at the familiar security man inside of the large gates. Oscar tipped him a wink and jaunty wave and opened the gates, allowing him through. Oscar was small, barely 5’ 6”, maybe an inch smaller, but he was muscular and deceptively strong; Josh had been inside when he’d seen the man take someone down once, Alberto chuckling maliciously as Oscar twisted the man almost like a pretzel to incapacitate him.

Parking his car away from the gates Josh hopped out, briefcase in hand, and he barely made the front door before Ricardo opened it. Despite being dressed in the ridiculous tuxedo as always, and being as snooty as he ever was, Josh couldn’t help but think that Ricardo seemed a little… politer than usual, especially by his standards towards anyone who wasn’t Alberto. “We were not expecting you so soon,” came the clipped and heavily accented Spanish, not entirely accusatory but not happy either. Josh shrugged and patted his briefcase, “I have something the boss will want to see. Now.” Ricardo lingered a moment longer before finally conceding and leading Josh upstairs towards a sitting-room type area where Alberto and Christian were--- and Alberto didn’t look surprised to see him there. 

~:~

It was Christian who insisted that Josh made himself comfortable, telling Ricardo to get the man a drink and essentially making him feel at home. Alberto was a little more taciturn but Josh understood that. The man could be charming but when he didn't have to bother, he didn't. Plus he'd almost been blown to kingdom come not too long ago and when he saw Josh, there was usually a good reason and it wasn't Josh's fault that the good reason tended to be bad news. 

“I came because the mayor had an emergency meeting with Lauriniatis and Layfield and you said I should tell you anything, no matter how irrelevant, should they meet up,” he said. Alberto simply nodded, looking slightly bored although Josh knew by now that was just an act. More than once he had thought that Alberto wasn't really listening to him only to have his words repeated verbatim back at him. He supposed it was something to do with board meetings, not looking interested in order to unsettle someone or make them take a lesser offer if they were selling something. 

“Someone caved in Lauriniatis's face,” he said, watching Alberto carefully. He wouldn't put it past the man to arrange that and worse – but Alberto frowned and Josh decided he probably hadn't had anything to do with it. It simply wouldn't have been revenge enough for what had been done and Alberto looked almost unhappy about it, although whether that was because whoever did it hadn't finished the job or because he hadn't got there first, Josh didn't know. “He said he fell over or something but there's a whole world of difference between accidental and a punch and I know which it was.”

“Couldn't have happened to a more deserving person,” said Christian. “You know who did it?”

“He didn't say to me or in the meeting, but... I don't know. Layfield already seemed madder than hell at him and he seems that type. Vince wouldn't risk it, wouldn't get his hands dirty that way, though he might have someone else do it. I don't see that it can't be related to this. They were both aware that Lauriniatis was behind the bombing by the way, but I got the impression they didn't know about it 'til afterwards, thought it was sloppy. They're both madder than hell at him.”

“They can get in line,” said Alberto. 

“There's some good news, though you'll hear it on the recording I made. They seem to think that targeting Christian again will be far too obvious. The plan I got the first time was that they were going to set you up Alberto, force you out of business through the investigation. But they think that this attempt would rule you out if something happened to Christian.”

Christian perked up. “They're going to leave us alone?”

“That's not quite what I said. They realise they still have a lot to lose should whatever you're working on get out. They think that it might be enough to put Lauriniatis out of business and the resulting bankruptcy investigation would show some shady dealings they were all involved in. They're all still keen to see that you don't manage to patent your whatever it is. They don't know what it is either, they seem to have heard rumours though and they're worried. And they want it. There was some talk about Barrett, they considered taking him out but that doesn't put a stop to his research if it's at the prototype stage and they've noticed he's got a bodyguard...”

“When?”

Josh raised an eyebrow, that sudden worry over the bodyguard hadn't been like Christian at all. “I don't know when, they were watching the building since it's been empty and saw him going in there. They think he's going there to keep working on your prototype.”

Alberto and Christian exchanged concerned looks and then Christian turned his attention back to Josh. “They're still planning something though. Did they say what?”

“No. Vince pretty much told them he wanted deniability and didn't need to know the finer details, as long as there were no more bombs involved. I had to leave when it became obvious he was trying to wind up the meeting. To be honest, I think the bomb rattled him. He's worried about the investigation. It's not like the first time, when he thought he could direct the blame where he pleased. He knows if Lauriniatis goes down, he's not gonna be keeping his mouth closed. He sounded like he was about to have a meltdown, truth be told.”

“Uh-huh.” Alberto sounded less than sympathetic toward the man's mental state. “Did they mention who delivered the bomb?”

“No,” said Josh promptly. “They refered to him as him, heavy on the emphasis. They all seemed to know who he was though and they called him insane or mad a few times. Sounds like he knew what he was delivering but that's all I managed to find out.”

“Right.” Alberto nodded, leaning forward with his fingers tented. 

“It's all on the tape,” added Josh. This was where Alberto usually pulled out his fee for doing this, money that he could put toward Jack's medical fees. He was so close, so close and although he was slightly ashamed to have become so money-oriented, the sad truth was that to get the thing that was most important to him, he had to attach a massive importance to cash. 

Alberto didn't move and Christian noticed Josh's discomfort. “Uh, 'Berto. I think Josh wants to leave, go and see Jack.”

“Oh, yes.” Alberto raised his head and sat back, his stance advertising confidence once more. “I have changed my mind about your fee Josh.”

Josh looked back at him, uncertain of what to make of this. His heart started pounding harder. If Alberto had decided to screw him out of money, there was no way he was going to be able to make up the money to help Josh, hire Wade – and if that happened, he wasn't above blackmail. He wouldn't put it past Alberto but since Jack had been injured, he had found there were depths he had swum through he would never have considered before. 

Alberto gave his politicians smile, which didn't settle Josh's nerves. “I always pay my debts. It is the first rule of good business, owe nothing to no one and they cannot ask for anything from you in return. I owe a debt to you that I tried to pay with money until I realised just how valuable the information you gave me was. Were it anyone else who gave me the information I fear it would be a debt I could never repay. However, I think I'm in a position to give you something uh, similar to what you gave to me.”

Josh clearly wasn't following him and Alberto sighed quietly. “Your information saved Christian life. You ensured that my lover was not taken from me and I believe I'm in a position to help to return yours.”

For a second Josh remained blank and then his eyes filled with a wild hope. Christian's head turned sharply to Alberto. Clearly, this had not been discussed with him beforehand. 

“You'll talk to Wade for me?” asked Josh, his voice an octave higher than usual. 

Alberto made a dismissive sound. “Wade works for me. He'll do what I ask of him and while I understand that his speciality is not brain surgery as such, he has been part of a team that made a lot of advances in that area. The more advanced techniques, the equipment, were all related to him and they had a good success rate. I'm sure he would be more than happy to move his interest to that area once more while his latest innovation is patent pending.”

Slack-jawed, Josh nodded emphatically. “If he'll do this, if he'll try to help Jack, I'll pay him anything he--”

“No, you won't.” Alberto looked mildly affronted by this. “This is my debt. It is for me to pay Dr Barrett. The money you have raised, perhaps you should put it to a leave of absence while you help your Jack recover.”

There was no hiding the joy in Josh's face as he struggled and failed to stay in his seat. “Thank you! Thank you so much! Uh, when can we get started?”

Alberto chuckled. “Such enthusiasm. I shall have the team rounded up under the direction of Dr Barrett. I believe that his latest project will be concluded in the time it takes to summon them and aside from one ongoing task he will have some time on his hands. We shall undertake this as soon as we can and although I cannot promise what the results will be, this will be the best chance he has I believe.”

Josh looked like he might hug the businessman but manage to restrain himself. He couldn't quite hide the tears in his eyes though as he shook Alberto's hand and gave even more thanks. Alberto was magnanimous about it and managed to get Josh out of the building in the end, although he was sure that the man would linger in the car awhile before driving off. The gesture had clearly shaken him, in the best possible way of course. 

He was a little surprised when he felt Christian's arms go around him almost as soon as the door was closed. He turned his head slightly to give the man a quizzical look and the man smiled back at him, looking happier than Alberto had seen him since they had found out about the attempt on his life. “You're a good man 'Berto.”

“Who told you that?” Alberto attempted to look slightly irritated at the comment. 

“You did, with what you just did for Josh.”

“Ha, I owed him and that is that. I didn't do it because I'm nice or because I care about him.”

“No, you did it because you care about me.” Christian grinned rather teasingly. “And because he did something for you, you tried to think of something nice to do for him. And that makes you nice.”

“Stop saying nice so much! I'm not nice!”

“No, you're right.” Christian sighed heavily. “You're not nice. So I shouldn't do something nice for you? To show how much I appreciate it?”

“I wouldn't go that far,” said Alberto hurriedly. “I think with maybe thirty, forty years of you being nice to me, I could learn to be nice, no?”

Christian laughed. “You keep up with those kinds of acts and I won't be able to help myself,” he said. “Let's go to bed.”

“The tape--”

“Will still be there in the morning and won't be in our minds distracting me from being nice.”

“Morning's good.” Alberto returned Christian's grin with one of his own and elected to leave business until the next day.


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Beautiful Blue Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Mike confront the changes that the lawyer has undertaken, Laurinaitus has a follow-up meeting with the 'pizza-boy bomber' and Josh finally achieves his goal of getting Wade to complete Jack's surgery.

To say Wade hadn’t been expecting Justin to react the way he had upon finding out that Wade had ‘another job’ to do wouldn’t be an understatement; he didn’t think he had ever seen Justin so incensed before, not even when Christian had come by and informed them of Josh’s latest report once Alberto was well enough to come along. It seemed as though the man was reluctant to let Christian out of his sight, bodyguard or not, for any extended period of time, although to look at him you’d think he was as at ease with everything as he always was. Curling his fingers through his hair Wade sighed; he knew why Justin was upset and he understood but that didn’t make it any easier to see him acting like he was… If there hadn’t been suspicions about them before there would be now.

“I’ll do it,” Wade said lightly and his voice sounding caused Justin to stop pacing around like a wild animal. Christian and Alberto had just left, along with their fellow handlers and units, and now they were completely alone… and Wade suddenly wished that Chris’ deliberate attempts to remain behind when people clearly wanted him to push off had kicked in, because getting into a confrontation with Justin was not something he relished. The South African’s lip started to jut out and Wade readied himself--- Justin was by no means petty but he had discovered recently that his strong will seemed to take a hike when Justin pushed his buttons the right way, and he knew all the right ways to do such a thing without even having to think about it. “It’s a pretty routine operation given everything else---”

When Justin actually stomped his foot in anger Wade was startled; he didn’t see why the other was this angry at the prospect of Wade having to do another operation. Sure, his time had been a little taken up by Mike’s recovery recently but that didn’t mean he’d been neglecting Justin. On the contrary, he’d been trying hard to make productive use of their time off because the clean-up crew had worked faster than expected and the office was due to reopen within the week once the remodelling had been redone. Wade had never been very interested in architecture and he didn’t pretend to know how they had gotten everything back into order so quickly. He just hoped that they hadn’t messed with his lab too much… there was no need for them to keep everyone out now...

“It’s not the operation that bothers me Wade!” although that wasn’t entirely true Justin saw no reason to comment about the fact that Wade had been working himself even harder than usual recently with Mike and everything, because he knew Wade would insist that it was his job and he felt horrible thinking about Mike like any of this was his fault… He hadn’t asked to be blown to bits. Technically he and his friends hadn’t asked to have been attacked either but at least their job was one wherein they expected a bit of danger… he bet the most dangerous thing Mike usually had to contend with in his day to day work was potentially getting a paper-cut from reading all of those thick files he often had with him. Justin raked through his hands and let out a hard breath as he tried to compose himself.

It wasn’t as though it had slipped Justin’s attention that he was acting childishly and probably seemed very unattractive in manner to Wade right now but he couldn’t help it. “You said that they can’t risk that brunette being sent here right?” admittedly Justin had forgotten his name for the moment but it didn’t matter, “And yet he’ll want to be here won’t he? And yet moving him sounds out of the question—“he glanced down at the file Christian had given Wade, the information within regarding to the little spy’s lover, “—so that means you’ll need to go to him, at a regular hospital, which means you’ll be totally in the open even with me there. What if Laurinitus finds out? He’ll probably have the whole hospital blown sky-high!” and he wasn’t exaggerating: there was a real threat against Wade now.

“He wouldn’t dare,” Wade responded, picking up his now slightly cold cup of tea and grimacing as he took a swig before setting it back down again and standing up, moving to Justin with a slight smile trying to make itself known on his lips. Justin was just frightened for him, Wade knew that, he was conditioned to and he was sure he felt it on a personal level, but that didn’t mean he could have the other acting like this every time something happened. A residual jealousy was probably present as well but since that was something he already knew about when it came to the other he knew he just had to reassure him and that Justin would hopefully calm down. “I’m not worried about something happening to me,” the scientist said honestly as he draped his arms around Justin’s shoulders.

A slight frown curled Justin’s lips as he lifted his head from where he had comfortably nestled it against the others chest a moment, “What do you mean you’re not afraid?” he almost demanded. Logically speaking Justin knew a lot would go to hell if Wade was injured in a serious way, let alone killed, but that wasn’t what concerned him. If something happened to Wade… then Justin was taking the service hand-gun in his bedroom and putting a bullet through his own eye. That was the best way for them to off themselves right? And since he wasn’t too sure how much reinforcement had been given to his head it was probably a more sure-fire way than attempting to put a bullet through his brain. He wasn’t being dramatic, he was being serious: if Wade was gone he had no reason to live.

“I mean what I say,” Wade said simply, “I know that you’re not going to let anything happen to me and so I won’t worry about it.” Of course he wasn’t being so naïve as to brush off the threats hanging over his head in an increasingly growing storm-cloud, but he knew there wasn’t much he’d be able to do about it. From day one he had never been the type of man to hide away when there was potential for things to go wrong and he wasn’t about to start now. Besides, he had back-up now: the most gorgeous, lethal man he had ever laid eyes on, whose sole focus was ensuring his safety. There was nothing to worry about, and he just needed to make Justin see it the same way. If Justin let his feelings keep clouding his judgement then he’d put himself in danger as well as let any get to Wade.

“We owe him a lot,” Wade muttered softly as he leant down and brushed his lips over Justin’s, relieved when he felt the man softening into his embrace some more with the action, “—more than I think any of us realises. We might have dangerous jobs but Josh is almost leading a second life to keep up his end of things…” and it still awed Wade that he had been doing desperate and dangerous things for so long now just to have something to offer to the Brit after making his request. But Wade wasn’t interested in his money, although he already foresaw a bonus in his paycheque this week. “I’m scheduled to go and see if I can help Jack in three days,” he said softly, “I need to know that you’ll be fully on-board with this Justin.” After all it seemed like it was going to be just the two of them.

But even as he thought that he didn’t quite buy it; he was sure that it was going to be arranged so even one of the other units came with them to keep a secondary eye on things as Justin kept with Wade. After all, according to their recent intelligence Laurinitus and the others only expected that Justin was a standard bodyguard, and they were under a misapprehension as to just why he had been working so late for several days prior to that day. As long as they didn’t figure things out straight away, they might have a chance. Justin sighed and pouted once more before bringing his arms up around Wade’s neck, “Of course I’m going to be there with you,” he said as though Wade was a complete fool for thinking otherwise, “—just try and keep me away from you, Dr Barrett.”

~::~

“Thanks AJ, I owe you,” Josh said softly as he levelled the small brunette nurse with a smile, and she smiled back. AJ looked as threatening as a 12-year-old really, but there was something in her smile and in her eyes that made you think twice about writing her off. Since she had essentially been caring for Jack since his transfer to the unit Josh had gotten to know her quite well; she was married to some local politician in the area, an up-and-comer who was apparently ruffling a lot of feathers and taking his opponents down with an unfailing wit and honesty. He didn’t remember his name but he recalled AJ had laughed brightly as she proclaimed that they had all begun calling him, “A punk.” Josh gently toed off his shoes and removed his jacket, approaching Jack’s bed with unnecessary quiet.

More than once Josh had been caught out sleeping in Jack’s bed with him, or next to it in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, but the amount they were paid and their sympathy meant they did little more than chide him; especially when the senior nurse knew about the arrangement in its entirety. AJ moved over to him a moment later and handed him a spare blanket, Josh quirking a soft smile as he nodded in thanks and adjusted himself carefully so that he wasn’t disturbing any of the tubes or apparatus attached to his lover. “I heard that he’s in surgery soon,” AJ commented, keeping her own voice down much as Josh had when it came to quieting his movements, as though they expected one loud sound might suddenly awaken Jack. Sadly, Josh had long since gotten over that naïve hope.

“Yeah… I finally managed to get the doctor I wanted,” he glanced at her briefly, “No offence to Doctor Johnson but this guy… He can do things for Jack that I don’t think Johnson can even begin to imagine.” For a moment AJ seemed quietly pensive, watching the two lovers curled together. She knew all about the things they had been through together, and she hadn’t once questioned Josh’s odd hours or often secretive, high-paying behaviour. “You’re talking about Doctor Barrett aren’t you?” she asked, and then smiled a much less unnerving smile as she reached and patted Josh’s cheek affectionately, “If that’s the case then I think we’ll soon be able to see those beautiful blue eyes you kept lamenting over when Jack was first transferred,” she was still laughing at his blush when she left.

~:~

Alex was glad to have Mike home, he couldn't deny that part of things, but nor could he deny that the man was – well, slightly different. Not just because he was using crutches, although Wade's constant reminders that Mike's broken bones wouldn't heal all that fast seemed to have been more warning than truth because Mike didn't seem to particularly rely on them. It was an emotional change that Alex couldn't quite put his finger on. Of course Mike had just been through something incredibly stressful and he hadn't expected that Mike would simply be back to normal with no ill-effects (although a part of him had hoped for exactly that). He seemed oddly listless for one thing, as if his interests had suddenly narrowed and that wasn't like him at all, Mike was interested in everything that happened in the world around him. At the same time he had become even more protective of Alex and while he had always worried, he had usually left the man to his own devices when it came to work – Alex was a trained officer and Mike was a lawyer, but it was suddenly as if their roles had been reversed, with Mike wanting to cover Alex and act as his protector if he wanted something as simple as to go to the shop. 

He reminded Alex uncomfortably of the units he had been training. But Wade had always insisted that their lack of interest in their pasts and their narrow focus was more to do with the virus that had been unleashed with the bomb as well as the polymer that had done all the damage to them. Yet watching Mike, Alex was starting to have his doubts.

Adam came by every day for a half-hour at least, checking on Mike's mental state and telling Alex not to worry, it was simply post-traumatic stress that was causing him to act out of character. Alex wanted to believe him. Mike could still be charming when he wanted, he was even more loving when he wasn't coming home exhausted after long hours in the office, he cracked jokes and he still had the weird obsession with the reality TV shows that Alex hated so much. Btu there were those other times, those strange moments when he wasn't sure that it was simply PTSD causing Mike to withdraw from him while trying to keep him close at the same time. 

His worry was compounded when he actually managed to talk Mike into letting him go out alone – the shop was close and Alex hardly needed a bodyguard, he had been training the most advanced units in their militia or anyone else's. But he had rather thought to surprise Mike with a DVD and some junk food, spend a long evening just slobbing around and enjoying one another's company. The trip took rather longer than he had expected, as he had gotten stuck choosing the DVD; usually they went for an action flick but he thought that so soon after almost being blown to hell and back, something with explosions might not be the best choice. That had left him a little torn because they tended to disagree on comedy, horror seemed not to be escapist enough and there was no way he was getting a chick flick. In the end he went for comedy, choosing ones they'd never seen before and ones that he hoped would appeal to both of them on some level, going all out with the popcorn and ice cream and soft drinks. He was used to travelling quietly and had left the bags in the hallway of the apartment they shared while he opened the door, seeing movement from the corner of his eye and taking a couple of steps into the front room, forgetting about the shopping. 

Mike had dumped the crutches beside him and had dug out the damned toy gun from somewhere, the one that made an appearance every so often when one or the other of them was feeling mischievous, hiding somewhere in the room to shoot the other when they came in from work or where ever. Mike though it seemed was not feeling playful. He had an expression of fierce concentration, eyes narrowed as he took aim at the items he had set up on the shelf opposite. Alex felt his own brow crease in concern as Mike took aim, shot, missed with the foam dart and cursed to himself, picking up another and trying again. This time the dart knocked the item he'd been aiming for, a bottle of pricey aftershave, off the shelf and onto the carpet. Not too long before, Mike would have freaked at the thought of that stuff being wasted given the price that it was. He certainly wouldn't have been trying to shoot it.

Mike cursed again as his next target, a bottle of deodorant, wobbled but didn't fall. Alex decided he'd seen enough. “Target practice?” he asked, amicably enough, but Mike jumped as if he'd been scared out of his mind. 

“I didn't hear you,” he said, almost accusingly.

“Is that the only reason I haven't got a face full of foam bullet by now?” asked Alex, going for a joke and seeing it fall flat as Mike looked rather outraged at the suggestion he would ever shoot Alex, as if the last time he'd had hold of that gun he hadn't chased Alex all the way around the apartment with it, laughing like a schoolboy every time he hit his mark. 

Sighing, Alex rescued the bags and brought them in, leaving them by the door as he closed it – he and Mike both preferred their ice cream slightly melted anyway and getting it into the freezer suddenly seemed unimportant. He went to the couch and sat beside Mike, rescuing the gun from him. “Is there something behind this? Only it's supposed to be fun and you were taking it way too seriously.”

“I--” Mike stopped, dropping his head and running his hands over the spots where his hair was still waiting to grow back in, the only sign that anything bad had happened, aside from the crutches. “I thought my aim might have magically improved,” he confessed. “That's what happened to your units.”

“Not quite,” said Alex. “They were soldiers, they were trained to be good shots and that stayed with them. You're trained to be a lawyer and that's stayed with you--”

“But I'm not going to be a lawyer,” said Mike in exasperation. “I've been reconstructed!”

Alex blinked a couple of times. “What's that got to do with anything?”

“Well – I know Alberto. He'll expect me to be one of them, to be useful since his brand new prototype medical technology got used on me...”

“Whoa.” Alex took Mike's hand, all thoughts of a movie night forgotten. “That's not how it is Mike. For one thing, even if Alberto were that mercenary, which he can be but he isn't being in this case, he   
didn't okay your treatment. Wade did. From what I hear Alberto was in his office and didn't know a thing about it 'til it was already done. For another thing, if he wants to patent this technology, then he'll have an excuse now not to show off the units. He's got you to show that it works just fine and he gets to keep his units under wraps. You're more useful to him not being a soldier.” He paused. “Anyway, don't you think that I would have said something if that was the plan?”

Mike shook his head slowly. “Who's to say you'd be consulted?”

“I'd be consulted. And so would you.”

“The units weren't.”

“Actually, they signed the disclaimers. You should know what they entailed, you drew them up. So they did agree and in any case, they're doing pretty much what they were before, something of a promotion. So will you.”

“I don't feel as if I ever will.”

“Is that what's been bugging you? You feel like you have to be some kind of warrior just because you've been through the same thing as the units?”

“Well...” Mike shrugged. “I'm less vulnerable now, you're not. You said that the units have a rapport with their handlers and I've been sent home with you. I feel as if I should be doing something more – something more, more than working corporate law for Alberto when I've got these advantages.”

“Babe.” Alex stroked Mike's knuckles with his thumb. “You were sent home with me because I love you and I want to be with you. And this is where you live. Wade trusts me to keep an eye on you if you need it but even if you were sent off with someone else, I would have been right there too, because I wouldn't have been able to just let you go off without following you. I never have been able to. You weren't sent because you needed a handler, you were sent because you belong here, with me, and that would be the same even if none of this had happened. You're less vulnerable, true, but Wade repaired what had been damaged in the blast, he didn't give you the same kind of upgrades that the units have--”

“The eyes.”

“One thing and it was that or...” Alex didn't want to think about the or. “It's nothing like the others. The surgery done on you was what Wade designed the skin for, not for military use. And he's delighted with the way it turned out by the way, because it just shows that the medical uses are huge.” He scooted closer to Mike. “Look, if you decide you want to change careers then I'll be right behind you, the way I always am. But think about it a little longer, because you certainly don't have to go into the militia because of this. That's not the only thing left for you, it's just an option that would have been there had this happened or not. And I'd rather you didn't if I'm honest – I'd be afraid for you every waking moment and most of the sleeping ones. Just because you're one of the first people to undergo this doesn't mean that it's any different than a skin graft. In a couple of years it'll be pretty much routine I'll bet and no one will think about joining the militia just because of it.”

Mike looked sideways at Alex. “Do you think I'm different?”

Alex knew he'd better tread carefully with this one. “A little. Most of the time, no, but there's times when you are. I wouldn't expect anything else. It's something pretty massive that we went through. I expect that I'm different as well.”

“I thought you were gonna follow me to the bathroom,” admitted Mike with the ghost of a smile. “Do I feel different?”

Alex hadn't expected that and thought it over. “I expected you to, but not that I've noticed. There's a few things that aren't the same, that scar you got falling off your skateboard as a kid isn't there and there's a few less freckles but those aren't the things I fell in love with and I can accept them gone as long as you're not. And it doesn't feel different. I've been over every single inch of your skin since you came home and it just feels like – you. If I didn't know, I wouldn't have been able to guess.”

“It feels different but it's a little scary how quickly I got used to it.” Mike paused a moment. “Look. If you don't like how I am now, I won't blame you if you decide you want out---”

“Wait!” Alex's heart leapt into his mouth suddenly. “You want me to go?”

“No! That's the last thing I want.” Mike's eyes were wide and it occurred to Alex that if Mike were still capable of tears, his eyes would probably be wet. “But it can't be easy to live with someone who's... like me. Not really a person any more. Merchandise.”

Alex pulled Mike into his arms, feeling his heart break a little. “You are not merchandise,” he said in a low, fierce voice. “You are Mike and you're the same person who just happened to go through something dreadful and was saved by something that was practically a miracle. You're the same man I fell in love with and I will never leave you. I don't see you differently and I don't think of you differently. You're a man. Not any kind of hybrid.”

Mike leaned into his embrace, apparently soothed by the determined words and Alex rested his head on Mike's shoulder, stroking his hands over Mike's back. And it occurred to him that this was probably how the handlers felt all the time when it came to their boys; seeing them as men when the rest of the world really didn't. The units included.

~:~

Lauriniatis had been hoping to see Vince when he dropped by the mayor’s office, officially to drop off a suggestion for the exterior of his building he'd need planning permission for – Del Rio's building had been repaired to look better than before and suddenly Lauriniatis was starting to feel he even looked inferior to the smug Mexican – but unofficially he wanted to know if anyone had linked him to the bombing at Del Rio's corporation. Vince was there but already in a meeting and Lauriniatis was forced to leave the plans with the attractive blonde girl sitting in his secretary's office. He managed a smile, wishing his face was better already. “Hi honey. Has Vince finally got a real secretary instead of the man he has hanging around usually?”

The woman didn't look too pleased by the smarm. “Josh is taking some personal leave. His boyfriend is quite seriously ill and he's undergoing some surgery, he finally raised the money. I'm only here until he returns.”

“I won't be holding my breath for it,” said Lauriniatis with a wink. This was clearly the wrong thing to say as well because the temperature emanating from the woman dropped a couple of degrees. He shrugged slightly, put it down to the bruises fading on his face and left his papers with her before heading back to his own office. Since he'd heard about Del Rio's potential military breakthrough he'd been putting in a lot of extra hours in order to try to make his own company more stable and profitable. It was starting to work but too slow, much too slow and it would all come crashing down if Del Rio somehow managed to get ahead of him in the one field in which most of his money was invested. The knowledge made Lauriniatis frown all the way to the office, missing the news on the radio that he had deliberately switched on to hear. He was far too busy to watch it on the television or read on the internet.

By the time he got to the office almost everyone had already left and he silently cursed the lack of dedication that his staff sometimes showed. He was pretty sure that there would still be one light on though, given that he had just dropped off an architectural suggestion that had been designed by him. Lauriniatis had wanted something hot and fresh and in any case, it kept him sweet. 

Sure enough, the light in the man's office was on and Lauriniatis stepped in, noticing that he was completely ignored in favour of the – whatever the hell was on the canvas. He'd say it was someone's nightmare come true if it hadn't been for it being in brighter colours than one would associate with that. Whatever happened to the good old days, when artists painted portraits and bowls of fruit? At least one could tell what they were and there were no awkward pauses while he tried to compliment something he thought should have been at least recognisable. 

“Good evening Jeff,” he said casually. 

“Hey,” replied Jeff disinterestedly and Lauriniatis tried to recall what had persuaded him to hire the man in the first place. He'd been taken on as a low-level security guard for the parking lot, something Lauriniatis didn't even oversee, but he should have seen that Jeff was dissociated with reality. Instead Jeff had pulled one insane stunt after another and Lauriniatis had thought he could harness him, use him and pull him into whatever scheme he needed someone for. He should have known that Jeff was a loose cannon with a complete lack of fear of consequences. Getting rid of him had been out of the question, he knew too much, but stowing him up in the advertisements department... he should have known that the temptation to put him to work again would become too much and he'd live to regret it. And it had and he had. 

“Did you drop off the blueprints?” asked Jeff, still not looking around. 

“With the new secretary,” replied Lauriniatis, noticing that Jeff had been at his hair again and it was now purple. Just as well. He was sure that Jeff's previous hair would have attracted attention and as long as the cops were after red and green, they might overlook purple, or so he hoped. 

“Kay.” Jeff looked over his shoulder, smirking. “Any information as to whether we're suspects?”

“None, but I think we might be in the clear,” said Lauriniatis hopefully. “There's been no one around here asking questions.”

“Nope,” agreed Jeff. “On the other hand, the problem that drove you to it's still there.”

“I know,” said Lauriniatis irritably. 

“You didn't give my blueprints directly to Vince?”

“No, I told you, his secretary. New girl. The old one, his boyfriend's having brain surgery or something. Vince said he's been in a coma about a hundred years.”

“A real sleeping beauty,” said Jeff rather gravely. “Perhaps a breakthrough just became available.”

“Perhaps.” Something kicked at Lauriniatis's brain but he couldn't quite put his finger on it and dismissed it as unimportant. “I'll leave you to it. Uh, Jeff?”

“Yeah?”

“You didn't tell anyone about this, did you?”

“Sure I did, all my drinking buddies and the cops, also I tweeted it.”

“Seriously?”

“Of course not, no one uses twitter.” Jeff sighed. “I didn't say a word, not to anyone. I don't need another round of psych evaluations, I just want to be left alone to paint. And occasionally blow shit up of course.”

“Of course.” Lauriniatis sighed. “Goodnight Jeff.”

“Cheer up Johnny,” said Jeff, his attention seemingly on his painting. “We'll come up with something. And I'll be only too happy to help.”

~:~

Sighing gently Wade watched as the theatre doors swung closed behind the nurses and orderlies who had wheeled Jack’s bed back out of the operating theatre. It had been a relatively straightforward procedure in theory, and Wade just hoped that practically he hadn’t been too self-confident; he wasn’t a neurosurgeon by trade after all. Outside of the door stood Justin, completely alert and aware, ready for the smallest hint of danger to make its presence known so that he could deal with it in order to protect anyone inside--- but most importantly Wade. Stripping off the latex gloves Wade shoved them into the bin and thoroughly washed his hands and upper-arms, using antibacterial gel once he had dried them. The scrub removal came next, shoving them into the bin as well, a quick check afterwards.

Finding no blood or other matter marring his clothing or skin Wade deemed himself presentable and left the adjoining wash-room to the operating theatre and joined Justin outside. Josh was sitting on a chair opposite, having only just been convinced by AJ to sit down because pacing like that and being so tense was likely to be sending his blood pressure sky high… and Jack wouldn’t like to know Josh had been endangering his own health in the meantime would he? Josh, of course, had seen Jack being wheeled back to his room but he hadn’t followed immediately because he wanted to hear from Wade how he thought things had gone, and for how much longer he was most likely to have to wait. Although, given how long he had already been waiting for Jack, what was another week or two?

“Wade…” he sounded weary, tension lines marring his otherwise useful face. Even his spiky hair was sans its usual gel, giving him a softer and slightly less composed appearance. He was even wearing jeans and a hooded jacket, giving him a younger appearance. All in all he looked as though he could be sitting in some college class somewhere without a care in the world instead of being some seasoned spy who had just witnessed his lover having potentially complicated surgery. “Josh,” Wade quirked a smile to him before sending a quick look to Justin knowing that his lover was undoubtedly still anxious… And Wade was still adjusting to referring to Justin like that, even inside of the privacy of his own head. “I think things went well; no complications and his vitals all remained stable during.”

Visibly Josh sagged as though the weight of the world had been removed from his shoulders and Wade momentarily feared that he was actually going to collapse to the ground. Josh kept his feet though and straightened after a few moments, eyes suspiciously glassy and looking as though he wasn’t sure whether to hug Wade or not, “How can I ever repay you?” he asked quietly and Wade momentarily felt guilty about being asked even though he knew he hadn’t indicated in any way that he expected some sort of compensation for his efforts. “Josh… Alberto’s got the money covered, and even then that isn’t necessary… As long as you two look after each other that will be enough for me.” He knew he seemed too soft-hearted in these moments but realistically how could he not be?

If he was money-focused then he wouldn’t have done half of the work he had, because he wouldn’t have had the drive to discover all he had. If money was the only thing he cared about then he would most likely be doing the bare-minimum work to cover what he was being paid, and most likely he wouldn’t have come up with the synthetic skin, or the advanced eye replacements and inter-coms that could be placed comfortably underneath the skin without issue for the wearer. All of his work… Justin, and the others, would have died in agony at ages much too young to have been considered full lives. Mike would be dead, also in agony and unfairly, and Jack would most likely have remained in a coma until someone could finally convince Josh that the kindest thing to do would be to pull the plug.

A warm hand on his lower-back startled Wade slightly and he blinked rapidly a few times, realising that Justin was the one touching him and sending him a slightly concerned look. Giving Josh and Justin an apologetic smile he shook his head, “Sorry… Guess a little post-op fatigue is setting in,” he semi-lied, both men apparently accepting his explanation with only momentarily hesitation. “Do… Do you know how long it’ll be until he wakes up?” Josh asked, looking slightly afraid to ask. Exhaling softly Wade spread his hands in an open and vague gesture--- and it was clear he wasn’t happy about doing so. “I’m afraid not; I used standard anaesthetic but considering that he wasn’t conscious before we started the proceedings…” he trailed off and Josh understood what he was getting at then.

“I’ll be right here,” the brunette insisted softly, both to reassure himself and Wade in a strange way, as though he had to prove he was going to take care of Jack in a way that would be fitting for the essential miracle he believed Wade had pulled off. “Whether it’s two days, or ten days, or even weeks… I’ll be right here when he wakes up.” Wade smiled and extended a hand, which Josh grasped and shook warmly. Wade could feel him shaking and his sympathy went out to him; it hadn’t been easy to wait, and he hadn’t even seen what was happening. “That’s good. And I wish you the best of luck Josh, both of you. If you ever need anything else… Alberto will point you in my direction I’m sure.” He would have offered his own direct number, except that would be too risky for them all.

~::~

“They’ve been gone a while now,” Evan commented absently from where he was laid out on his front of the living-room carpet of his and Chris’ apartment, one of Cody’s graphic novels open before him. Said shared owner of the apartment was talking to the owner of said novel, and Ted seemed to be paying distracted attention to their conversation. John had had an errand to run and Randy had naturally offered (i.e. told) John that he would accompany him even though John had tried to say it wasn’t necessary. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing them again today,” Chris answered and Evan glanced over his shoulder at the older man, causing Chris’ stomach to give a smug little dance when he saw the faint mark that he had left on the other’s neck during a passionate make-out session earlier on.

“Why?” he asked and it took Chris mere seconds to realise that Evan was worried and hastily back-peddled on his explanation, “I don’t mean that anything will have happened to them, just that they’ll probably want some privacy,” by this point Ted was looking at him too and it was clear the two units couldn’t quite understand why their final handler and comrade unit wouldn’t be coming to see them. Chris looked at Cody for some back-up and the ravenette hesitated a moment before trying to add some more explanation to satisfy their curiosity, “Wade gets a little… emotional, when he’s performed a big surgery,” Cody said, knowing that probably wasn’t the right word but at a loss for another, “—he likes to be alone, to wrap his mind around what he’s done. To… to come down from the adrenaline.”

That they seemed to understand more and the two handlers exhaled mental breaths of relief; that could have been awkward if they had accidentally set the pair off, for all they were most protective of their handlers (recently turned lovers in most cases, although they didn’t exactly speak of the transition out loud) they were also protective of each other and it showed. “Well, I hope Wade feels better soon,” Ted said honestly and Cody gifted him with one of those open smiles that revealed the adorable gap between his teeth. Ted’s stomach clenched and his heart swelled at the sight of the smile because he knew that it meant Cody was confident around him, and felt no need to hide or mark what he saw as a prominent imperfection in himself the way he did with a lot of other people.

Absently Ted wondered whether that gap would make itself more known when they were in bed together, and he got to really experience the passion Cody had been slowly but surely revealing to him lately… and as quickly as he had that thought he guiltily dismissed it; two of their own had been involved in another tense situation and he was thinking with his ‘mini-brain’ as he had heard Dr Adam referring to it once or twice during banter with Chris. It had admittedly taken him a while to make the connection--- especially since according to Cody there wasn’t anything ‘mini’ about him in that aspect. Little did Ted know that his mind wasn’t the only one wandering to territory that would most likely be deemed inappropriate at given time; Evan was reliving the shower he and Chris had had that morning.

He had been shocked when the shower door had been opened and a strong, warm body had pressed against his back. Evan knew he himself wasn’t cold but Chris always seemed that much hotter to him… in more ways than one. The blonde’s talented mouth had worked over his neck (leaving behind the still present mark) and his hand had brought Evan to a satisfactory release. Still, he’d much prefer if they could finally take that last step--- the sudden sound of the door opening and closing, a loud greeting following, made Evan jump so guiltily that he flailed over the carpet, looking like a fish that was flapping around the last of its life on-deck of a ship. Chris didn’t know whether to laugh or be concerned, “Evan, are you alright?” suddenly he was looking a little bit flushed and shiny-eyed.

“I’m fine,” he managed, voice coming out a little squeakily as he pulled himself off of the floor and moved to sit with his back against the couch, knees drawn up to his chest and the comic forgotten on the floor momentarily. Before anyone could comment further John and Randy walked in, the two men grinning and apparently in good spirits as they lofted into view an apparently generous amount of Chinese takeaway and beer, “We come bearing gifts!” Randy rolled his eyes with fond exasperation as John moved to start take out the boxes of the takeout, Ted having already fetched in plates and cutlery—for those who couldn’t use chopsticks. “We took some up to Wade and Justin’s place too,” Randy informed the other two units, the three seemingly having some sort of silent conversation.

“That’s good of you,” Cody nodded, glad they had been thought of, eyes eagerly devouring the food; they had all been eating well on their diets recently considering but given the occasion so to speak there was no harm in a little indulgence. John sat down on the other couch, Randy besides him, thigh pressed to John’s thigh, Chris seated himself closer to where Evan sat on the floor and Ted was sitting on the floor beside Cody’s legs. An unspoken toast was given to Wade for his latest achievement once the beers had been given out and everyone had settled down, both halves of the group thinking that they really did owe Wade more than they could ever hope to pay him back. Good job an import of ‘proper’ English tea and crumpets seemed to be enough to appease the man.


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Don't Want To Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the units remembers something... Something that could throw his fledgling relationship, and those of one of the other couples around him into complete turmoil.

The thought of the others getting them some food was appreciated when Justin and Wade arrived home mere moments after John and Randy had dropped it off and carried on upstairs, but in the end it was left untouched, in its containers, on the kitchen side. Justin didn’t remember which one of them exactly had been the one to initiate the first kiss, but from there it was as though someone had caught them both in wild fire and Justin was helpless but to go with his instincts… and those instincts said they wanted Wade, and they wanted him now. And it seemed that Wade needed him just as badly. They hadn’t exactly been intimately reticent since the admittance Justin had made about touching him, but they hadn’t had full sex, Wade still having a few issues with his conscience...

For the moment those appeared to be well and truly forgotten though. A sharp gasp left Justin as Wade’s mouth suddenly found his throat, the South African arching onto his toes automatically as pleasure flooded him, his hands gripping desperately (but subconsciously carefully) as Wade’s back as the other’s teeth and tongue turned him into a quivering mess. “Wade--- fuck—“Justin panted and the Brit pulled back moments later after nipping at the smaller man’s Adam’s-apple and drawing an interesting whimper from deep in his throat. Wade’s neat hair was a mess, his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were so blown with lust that his pupil seemed to have completely encompassed his iris. Justin was both flattered and darkly thrilled; he had always wanted to see Wade lose control.

What he had ‘stolen’ from the sleeping man that night had been amazing but it wasn’t the same as this; they were in the middle of the living-room and kissing like their lives depended on it, without a care in the world that the others probably figured out what they might be getting up to in the absence from their little get-together, and the lamp was on, illuminating Wade in a soft golden glow. Words seemed to have failed him and so Justin expressed his feelings in the only way he could think of right then: he kissed him soundly on the mouth and granted his eager tongue immediate entrance to Wade’s partially open mouth as one of his legs hooked around Wade’s waist. The action had their groins pressing together and Justin shivered in wanton delight at the hardness he felt from the other.

Wade wanted him. Wade really wanted him. When large hands suddenly grabbed his ass Justin squeaked in surprise when he felt himself being lifted with an almost insulting ease, his other leg automatically wrapping around Wade’s middle as well. If he’d been expecting that Wade was going to take him to the nearest bedroom though he was mistaken--- the only merely lay him down on the plush rug that covered a section of the floor just before the fireplace. Romantically the moment would have been enhanced if the fireplace was lit, but Justin didn’t much care about the romantic right then. Right then he just wanted to be fucked, and hard. He wanted Wade to pour all of that latent passion into him and to make whatever was plaguing him better. He wanted all Wade had to give and more.

Clothes were pulled off without care, buttons being sent around the room and zippers being torn most likely beyond repair as the pair all but fought to get at one another, skin against heated skin as their mouths licked and bit. When Wade’s mouth enveloped his nipple, sucking and nipping to a degree that was as painful as it was pleasurable Justin felt as though he was going to reach his limit before Wade had even taken his boxers off. “Wade--- please—“Justin begged as he writhed, the rug’s material tickling his back but barely distracting him the way it most likely would have done had he been in his prior-reconstructed state. Wade’s grin was devilish and Justin almost came then and there; Wade looked young, and wicked, and as though he knew exactly what he was doing to Justin and loved it.

“I hope that stamina lives up to expectations, Justin,” Wade muttered, Justin barely understanding what was happening as he suddenly found himself exposed to cool air mere seconds before Wade’s mouth enveloped him right down to the root. In truth Justin had no idea which bit startled him more: the way Wade had taken him into his mouth, or how much he had taken in without hesitation. Slamming his fist into the carpet to try and alleviate some of the sensation already making his toes curl Justin down on his own knuckles to try and muffle the sounds of pleasure that were leaving him. Wade sucked fervently, teasing the underside with his tongue and teeth, causing Justin minor confusion over the fact that Wade seemed intent to bring him over the edge as fast as he could.

When his orgasm crashed over him Justin cried out helplessly--- and then when he felt the thick, throbbing length of Wade’s cock pressing into him his ecstatic cry continued and grew louder. In the back of his mind it ached somewhat, but he expected that it would have hurt more had he not been caught in throes of pleasure during. Wade’s shoulder muscles were like rock between Justin’s fingers, face pressed into his neck as he sunk in slowly, “S-sorry, Justin,” he panted, a bit of shame in his voice, “I’ll be… nice again… next time but… need you… too bad…” the staggered words broke off then as Wade pulled out and thrust in, causing Justin to moan lowly as he arched, attempting to urge Wade on, panting reassurances and fairly begging Wade for more, the other eventually heeding him.

~:~

There was something happening that Chris was pretty sure he wasn't privy to. Since they'd heard Wade and Justin come in from the hospital, the mood among the units seemed to have changed. They forgot what they were saying, stopping suddenly as if disturbed, exchanged the occasional glance that seemed amused and – and something else that he couldn't quite put his finger on. And every so often, one or the other of them would glance at the ceiling. Of course, Wade and Justin had the apartment directly above them but Chris couldn't hear anything and he was pretty sure that John and Cody were just as clueless as he was. It was one of the few times he had ever felt different to Evan, as if the three units were a part of some secret that they were transmitting to one another without the aid of speech and the handlers were being left out. John and Cody were aware of it on some level, seeming confused, but were actively trying not to notice it.

The food was done with and they'd had a couple of beers each but the mood had gone from rather convivial to a little tense and Chris decided it might be a wise idea to turn in for the night. He gave an exaggerated stretch and bid everyone goodnight, Evan bouncing up to join him – and Chris was mildly disconcerted to see there was something akin to disappointment in Evan's eyes. What the hell was going on?

They went up the stairs to the apartment above Wade's and Chris gave the closed door a curious glance but didn't hear anything that might explain Evan's slightly odd behaviour and he didn't want to linger, that would just be weird. And Evan's behaviour was still rather jumpy when they got to their own place, although he seemed to have knocked off staring at the ceiling in favour of occasionally dropping his eyes, as if he was trying not to look in Chris's. 

“You want another beer?” asked Chris casually.

“Sure,” said Evan and his eyes dropped to the floor again. “And maybe we could put on some music. Some loud music.”

“Is everything okay?” asked Chris abruptly as he rescued two bottles of beer from the fridge and pulled off the tops before handing one to Evan.

Evan took the beer, hesitating slightly. “No, not really.” Chris fixed him with a disbelieving look and Evan squirmed uncomfortably. “Uh, it's our hearing. While he was in there Wade did something that improved it.”

“And...?”

“And he might not have done if he knew that I could hear what he's doing down there.”

Chris stared blankly for a moment, then everything fell into place as he tried to un-imagine what Evan had just put into his head. “Well, that explains why you were all looking at the ceiling.”

“I can't believe you guys couldn't hear them,” said Evan, rather slyly. “Justin's really loud. Who knew Wade could do that to him?”

Just as he had hoped for, Chris looked vaguely annoyed by this observation, going into the living room and turning up the music a fraction louder than he usually did. Evan followed him, starting to enjoy himself. “Chris, I'm sure that those guys downstairs are trying to recreate a romantic atmosphere. I don't think that Killswitch Engage is gonna add to that.”

“But you can't hear them now, right?”

“Not anymore,” replied Evan cheerily. “I hope Justin isn't paying too much attention to the background music though.”

Chris looked thoughtful a moment. “Hey, I suppose this means they didn't get to eat their Chinese. You think they'd mind if I just--”

“I'm pretty sure they would.” Evan took a seat, rolling his eyes. “I don't think they've gotten that far before. Wade's been far too moral to fall for Justin's attempts at seduction until now and we're not gonna disturb them at the crucial moment just to ask for their leftover meal.” 

Chris was almost sure that the comment about Wade not falling for it was a personal dig but refused to dignify it. “They've probably reached the crucial moment--”

“Twice,” replied Evan, straight-faced. “But they're still busy, trust me on this one.”

“Huh,” said Chris, trying not to wonder just how much stamina that took and if he was still up for it since he had already hit the big four-oh. “Then it's probably just as well we're not doing anything untoward. It'd be awkward knowing that we've got upstairs and downstairs that can hear us.”

“Trust me,” said Evan again. “They're all far too busy to pay attention to what we're doing.”

There was definite reproach this time and Chris tried to ignore it. It wasn't anything to do with Evan and he was sure Evan knew it, but he really didn't want to be having this conversation. Not to protect Evan so much as it was to protect himself – he already knew he was far too attached to Evan and perhaps had been from the moment he had heard the young man's voice telling him he had killed the last person to watch him sleep. Since then Chris had watched him sleep more than once and knew all too well that he would be devastated should Alberto suddenly reassign Evan somewhere else, ask someone else to be his handler or realise that their boys were still essentially human and capable of handling themselves. If he had actually slept with Evan, he would be lost if that happened. There was a part of him telling him he needed to take advantage of the time they had without worrying about what might happen in the future, but Chris was more used to protecting himself emotionally and whereas once upon a time he might have risked himself that way, he wasn't sure he could deal with it. 

Then again, he wasn't sure that he could hold out against the sensual charms of the younger man for much longer.

Evan tried once or twice to swing the conversation back to the innuendo he had shown before but Chris was steadfastly staying on the same track, that seemed to be talking over concerts he'd been to and the bands he'd seen and after a while Evan gave up. One day he would have to straight-out ask Chris if they were ever going to go do more than they had done, not that he hadn't been left smiling and sated in the shower that morning but every touch from his lover reminded him that he needed more. And more didn't seem to be forthcoming. When Justin managed to seduce Wade before he got his man into bed, there was something very, very wrong. 

He listened out as Chris moved through the apartment and he wondered if Chris would be angry that Evan had chosen to sleep in his own bed that night or if he would realise that Evan was starting to get frustrated. Chris paused outside his door and for a wild moment Evan thought the man would join him in his bed, which would be a first, but after a second Chris went to his own room and Evan fetched a loud sigh, turning onto his side. He missed having Chris in there with him, that was the truth, but if Chris was avoiding the talk then he would probably want to avoid the act and Evan wasn't that good at self-control. His eyes adjusted to the dark hurriedly, far better than anyone else's would have, just another reminder of something that made him wonder if Chris was put off by him, by his reconstruction. The thought was a common one but unwelcome and Evan pushed it away, still listening up as Chris closed the door behind him. He thought he could hear Chris undress, shedding his clothes (and dropping them right on the floor, Chris was not much in the way of a housekeeper), but he was all too aware that he could hear some muffled, distant sound that was probably Justin and Wade downstairs still going at it. 

He won't be able to walk in the morning thought Evan rather sourly, although he was starting to wonder if he was imagining that he heard the sounds since he was so frustrated himself – he imagined that he and Chris were the only ones in the whole building that weren't in the process of screwing one another senseless. Determinedly, he close his eyes and almost forced himself to switch off and get some sleep. He was pretty sure that everything would be fine in the morning. 

~:~

~~ It was dark, but that was only to be expected. It was cold as well though and that was something he never got used to, the extremes of temperature, how it was baking in the day and close to freezing at night. They were in a safe zone though and that allowed them to pitch the tents, two men to one, a simple matter with the new designs that were so easy to raise and collapse. He had heard that in the old days, pitching a tent could take an hour and a lot of cursing, easy to give oneself away to an enemy even in the safe zone. 

It was silent, except for the noise of what was happening between them. Occasionally one or the other of them would let out a slight chuckle or admonishment to hush, but for the most part they managed to have only their breathing give them away. And in this part of the world, there were those who would have them put to death simply for what they were doing, even before realising they were one of the private militias that were hired by the USA. 

He had been thinking of nothing more than getting some leave, getting home for a while and chilling out, but then he'd been approached and their friends-with-benefits thing seemed to be getting a jump-start out there in enemy territory. He was supposed to be on watch for a couple of hours but hell, if the boss couldn't give him a sex-break then who could? And he didn't see that they would be attacked any time in the near future. This was a safe zone.

It wouldn't do to be caught however. Any one of the soldiers would think they were being unprofessional and the son of a preacher man, DiBiase, would probably drop dead of outraged horror. And the boss didn't like the idea of the entire squad knowing anything about his sex life other than what he chose to share with them. 

He couldn't help the moan he let out as he buried himself balls-deep into the other man, gaining a muffled growl and an admonishment. “Hush!”

“Yes sir,” he murmured with a smirk, angling himself so that he caught the other man's prostate and hearing a moan in return. “Hush!”

“Is that an order, sir?” asked the other, blue eyes clouded with lust and dancing with something akin to mirth. 

“Damn right,” he replied, doing it again and relishing the sounds he heard as he managed to get the man in charge to call him sir and struggle not to beg for him, reaching tattooed arms around his neck and pleading for him, neither one of them having a clue in twelve hours time they would both be fighting for their lives and half of the men they were trying not to let overhear them would be dead--- ~~

~:~

Evan sat up in bed, hands flying to his head as if to hold the images in there. There had been something about the dream that was so much less jumbled and senseless than most of what he dreamed, something that had the undeniable ring of reality mixed in with it. 

That had been no dream.

But he hadn't remembered anything since he had woken up in the hospital, his name seeming only partially familiar and he knew he hadn't recalled Randy, although at one point he had apparently asked after Justin. He didn't want to remember. It should have been strange that it didn't seem important but it really didn't. He was supposed to be dead, for all intents and purposes he was and he had been more than happy to forge a new life with his new face, with Chris...

Chris. Suddenly a wave of guilt washed over him, which was ridiculous. This memory was from long before he had even met Chris, it wasn't as if he was cheating – then again, he was still rock-solid in spite of his distress and that only served to upset him more. 

DiBiase, son of a preacher man. Who the hell was that, one of the dead? The name had been right there but he couldn't put a face to it. One of the squad he had been on a mission with, that much wasn't in doubt. And somehow he was sure that had been their last mission, the one that had gone so disastrously wrong. 

It seemed a lot less important than the man he had been dreaming of. It shook his image of himself in every way possible. He had assumed he had been a dedicated soldier, the one who never let his guard down, the way he was now. He didn't think he had been the kind to slope off for a tryst with his commanding officer when he was supposed to be keeping a watch over those sleeping. Then again, his commanding officer hadn't seemed to mind his lack of commitment. Somewhere in there had been the knowledge that he hadn't been the one to invoke the moment, even if he had been cheerful about continuing it – and of course, he was certain that he recognised who he had been with. It had been dark and he had been different but as tall and tattooed as the man had been, it was hard not to realise who it had been. 

Evan drew his legs up to his chest, feeling lower than scum. Randy didn't remember him either, they didn't need to talk to know that one and the man was involved with John now. Evan knew just how close they were, how fiercely Randy's passion for the older man was and to think that he was the one who could get in the way of that – not that he would. Not ever. But he had been sleeping with Randy before their accident. What kind of man had he been? The kind who would indulge in casual sex, the kind who would treat his own team’s safety casually for the sake of his own pleasure? And then there was Randy, who had most certainly been there too. 

What did it all mean?

And then there was Chris, who would probably blow a fuse if Evan revealed this information. It could screw everything up if Evan were to reveal there had been more to their group than a bunch of soldiers who had one another's backs. He wanted to go to Chris for comfort so badly and yet, he felt that he had somehow betrayed the man by remembering being with someone else. 

He didn't remember anything else, no matter how hard he tried. Just the attempts to be quiet while he and Randy had screwed, the one name of one soldier. Nothing else, not what happened before or straight after, if they had been caught or if anyone knew. 

He already remembered too much. 

He couldn't stand it anymore. Silently he got from the bed, hurrying to Chris's room and letting himself in. In spite of his relative silence, Chris bolted upright immediately, blonde hair sticking every which way and his eyes wide as he tried to adjust his eyes to the darkness, something that Evan thought was taking a surprisingly long time. And then Chris relaxed and frowned at the same time. “Ev? What's up?”

Evan shot across the room and onto the bed, all but throwing himself in Chris's arms. “I don't wanna remember anything,” he said, face buried in Chris's shoulder. “I like things as they are. I don't wanna be who I used to be, I like being here with you. I don't wanna remember.”

Chris leaned back a little, putting a hand on Evan's chin to gently force his head up. “Did you remember something?” he asked, not quite sharply but with a certain edge to his words. 

“No,” Evan lied, having no idea that he was going to until the words were out. “Not a thing, I don't remember anything before the hospital and I don't want to. If I remembered who I was, I might have to leave and I don't want to.”

Chris seemed to relax even more. “No one'd make you leave just because you recalled what happened in your life before the bomb.”

“No one ever tried to help me remember it.”

“You seemed so determined to forget and it was thought by some that you didn't really need to know that kinda thing. I don't think that anyone realised quite how human you'd be.”

“Even you?”

“I knew how human you were the first time I saw you,” said Chris. “What the hell brought this on?”

“I--” Evan couldn't come up with much of a lie. “I don't want to go back to whatever I was doing before I was here. I don't want to remember.”

His vehemence worried Chris. “Even if you did, it wouldn't be that big of a deal--”

“I don't want to,” repeated Evan, changing his position slightly so that he was straddling Chris's lap, running his hands through the blonde's hair to smooth it out a little, although that wasn't the intention. “You have to help me forget Chris. I want you to help me--”

He moved his head forward, catching Chris in a kiss that took his breath away with the sheer force of passion behind it. Evan seemed to be needy, almost desperate and that was a feeling that Chris could relate to, in the field of lust at least. There was something else behind it, but Chris had been blindsided by the fierce way in which Evan had come after him after his emotional display. 

Evan's hands moved slowly over Chris's chest, pulling his lips from Chris's and moving them to the older man's collar instead, nipping gently and moving lower, to his nipple. Chris gave a quiet hiss as Evan sucked on the bud slowly and deliberately, flicking his tongue over the end. 

“I need you to help me forget,” murmured Evan against Chris's chest and for a second Chris thought that was a strange way to put it – but then Evan looked up at him and even though those eyes weren't real, they were still Evan's and reflected everything that the man felt. “I need you Chris, I always have, I can't stand it if you turn me away again--”

Evan moved his face up so he could kiss Chris again, somehow conveying even more passion than before, ass moving against Chris's cock in such a way as to make him very sorry they were both clad in boxers. Chris gave a quiet moan, having known all along that he wouldn't be able to stay away from Evan for much longer, he had been able to feel his own desire building inside him for too long and it was only the thought of Evan's well-being and the thought that one day he would want someone of his own age that had kept Chris at arm’s length. But he was only human and with Evan all but begging for him, there was no way that he could hold himself back any more.

Carefully, Chris bore Evan down to the mattress, determined that once they got started Evan would be forgetting everything except for what was happening between them.

~:~

Whatever Chris wanted Evan to do he did it; the slightest touch and Evan sat up or angled himself a certain way, leading Chris almost to have the mildly arrogant (and most likely insulting) thought that it was almost like Evan was made for him; he doubted that Chris’ ideal bed-partner had been written down for the scientist and he’d memorised it for when the perfect candidate came along. At least, Chris didn’t think their technology had advanced enough to have that happen. Filing that disturbing consideration away for later Chris returned his mouth to Evan’s throat, licking the mark that had all but faded now, but that he could recall every second of its creation. Moving down his smooth throat he left another mark on his collarbone, easier to hide, and then moved down Evan’s chest in turn.

Smooth, muscular and with a sleek build reminiscent of a swimmer but a little on the side of a bit more muscular without being obvious. Actually, if Chris had to attribute Evan to some kind of sport he would have chosen running, or kick-boxing: something that required concentrated use of his legs since they had all long since realised that he was pretty lethal with those kicks when he set his mind to it. A cry that was like music to Chris’ ears sounded from Evan when Chris’ mouth enveloped his nipple, causing the blonde to smirk around the swelling bud in his mouth. Evan’s hands were tugging in his hair borderline on painful, reminding Chris of his former sudden and unexplained urgency, but the blonde obeyed the physical demand and sucked and nipped harder, swapping over to the other one.

Nipping down Evan’s abdomen (the same abdomen he had had many inappropriate thoughts over almost from the first second he got so much as a glimpse of it) Chris laved each bit of muscle with his tongue, feeling oddly empowered and more confident in his own sexual appeal with the way Evan writhed and pleaded underneath him. From the strangled, “You god—fucking tease Chris!” he assumed he was doing something right. In the back of his mind Chris knew that there was something wrong about the sudden way Evan had amended himself (because who censored themselves not swearing to swearing, unless you were maybe fourteen and trying to appear cool?) but before he could think to chase the thought he pulled Evan’s boxers down… and promptly forgot everything but the moment.

Already Evan was rock-solid, weeping, and Chris had never recalled being so eager to suck a cock. Of course, if you asked Adam he would most likely tell you some completely bullshit exaggeration about Chris having always being eager to suck cock, but that was just a snide quip because Chris had told him eons ago that he’d never suck his. Chris still maintained to this day Adam had never quite gotten over the unintentional slight… and why was he thinking about this now? Licking slowly from Evan’s balls to his crown Chris revelled in the almost sob-like sound the other gave, repeating the gesture before bypassing his cock altogether and instead moving lower until--- “Oh fucking God!” Evan all but shrieked when Chris’ tongue circled his entrance and then thrust inside, causing him to convulse.

Somehow he doubted that anyone had done this to him before, not even--- he slammed the lid on that thought firmly, and found that it was, fortunately, easy enough to move on from the moment since Chris’ tongue was stroking him from the inside and Evan was sure that nothing else could ever feel so good… except maybe for Chris himself, properly inside. As Chris’ tongue worked one of his hands worked Evan’s balls gently in his palm, kneading and rolling them. The longer he kept at what he was doing the faster he could feel Evan’s climax approaching, the sounds he made becoming more desperate and wanton, the soft weight in his hand growing tenser and tenser… Evan all but howled when Chris pulled away, a firm hand around the base of his shaft staving off his orgasm painfully.

“Why?” Evan mewled, and had he been able to, there would have been tears of pleasurable pain leaking from the corners of his eyes. Brushing the unreal-tears away with a fleeting kiss Chris murmured, “I don’t want you coming until I’m inside of you and my name is the only thing you remember.” Evan swallowed thickly, chest heaving as he fought to control his breathing once more. He was throbbing even with Chris’ hand wrapped around him and there was a small part of Evan that was concerned he was going to go over the edge the second Chris let go… and he had the strange feeling suddenly that Chris would somehow be disappointed if that was the case. And he didn’t want to disappoint Chris, not when he was finally getting what he wanted. “Please—“Evan pleaded, uncaring about the fact his voice quivered or that he was begging.

“Hush,” Chris chided and under other circumstances Evan would have started reciting the national anthem or something to be cheeky (or the not-quite-lyrics of some dance song because Chris hated dance) but in this instance he just didn’t have the inclination to do so. Chris pressed two fingers into his own mouth, lathing them quickly before pressing them into Evan’s loosened entrance. A slight frown marred Chris’ forehead then as he felt how tight Evan was even with his best efforts. It would have been impolite and a total mood-killer to ask if Evan was a virgin at this juncture anyway, but given that Evan wouldn’t remember (and there was that word again) it would just make it all the more awkward. Still… Evan didn’t feel like he bottomed regularly, if he ever had before, and Chris hesitated.

As though sensing that Chris might be considering changing his mind Evan shoved back against the fingers needily, fairly grinding himself onto Chris’ hand and trying to get the fingers deeper… although he didn’t quite sure what he was expecting for them to go deeper. “Evan…” a light sheen of sweat illuminated Chris’ forehead by this stage, all thoughts of concern for the neighbours maybe waking up and hearing pushed from his mind, as were the thoughts of Evan’s strange behaviour. “I think this might be easier on your front,” he’d never forgive himself if he hurt Evan, and yet even with all of the foreplay it felt as though he wasn’t getting any looser. And Chris really didn’t think he could hold back much longer because he had been waiting much too long already to be inside his younger lover.

Of course he knew the wait was his own fault but splitting hairs on the details hardly mattered right then. If Evan was confused or disappointed he didn’t show it, waiting until Chris had removed his hand before rolling onto his belly and then bracing himself up on all fours. Even in the semi-darkness of the room Chris could see the way Evan’s muscles were tensing and flexing expectantly, and his own neglected shaft throbbed, frustrated, at the fact that he was still not inside Evan. When the younger man suddenly glanced over his shoulder, such an ardent look of need, barely restrained pleasure and desperation Chris knew he was lost. Moving onto his knees behind Evan as he took himself in hand Chris started to press into him, lips going to the back of Evan’s neck as he started to inch forward.

His free hand ran down one of Evan’s arms and linked their fingers together loosely, Evan tightening the grip as though frightened of what may happen to him if he let go of the other. “More, Chris---“Evan whined in the back of his throat, guessing that the other was only half inside of him by that stage. Any slower and he’d be remaining still… and if that happened Evan was sure he would literally bust a nut. Bracing his free hand down Evan pushed back, and the strangled cry Chris gave alerted Evan mere seconds after the sensation of Chris’ groin against his buttocks that the other was inside of him completely. Immediately it was as though the sensation was pushing the former memories back into the recesses of his memory banks, and Evan strived to chase that feeling, to keep it going more.

Although he had been determinedly telling himself to go gentler with Evan, said man actually made it very hard… no pun intended. Evan was pushing back on him, pleading in that sweetly tormenting voice to give him more, harder and that he wasn’t going to break for goodness’ sake! Chris didn’t recall ever being so involved in a sexual encounter before even though he would never pass himself off as a passive lover. But this… It almost felt as though this was a first time for him all over again. And Chris didn’t even really remember his first time anymore. So much had happened in his life since then after all. The sound of the springs of the still quite-new beds were beginning to creak in protest, and Chris was dimly aware of the fact that the headboard was lightly slapping against the wall with each move.

Evan’s head was hanging forward, the sounds he made now having died down to desperate pants and strangled mewls, the hand linked with Chris’ own still gripping tightly as the other one pawed and pulled at the bedding underneath them. It seemed as though they had barely gotten started when Evan felt his stomach beginning to clench with his returning orgasm, and the ravenette almost sobbed both from the already burgeoning intensity and the fact that he was already at the end. Even in his pleasurable haze he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he might not be able to have this with Chris again, though he couldn’t exactly pinpoint a reason right then as to why he was thinking like that. “CHRIS!” Evan essentially hollered at the ceiling and Chris climaxed mere moments later, startled.

Not that he was at the brink already so much, but that he hadn’t even considered the possibility that he was that close. Dropping his head to the back of Evan’s neck as he pumped his hips weakly, spilling all he had deep into his partner (and he couldn’t tell that Evan minded that at all) Chris panted reverently, “Evan…” into the back of the younger’s sweaty neck. When Evan’s arms gave out carefully underneath him Chris momentarily felt annoyed with himself that he hadn’t managed to wear the other down enough to have him lose total control, but a small part of him knew that that was possibly not possible, to wear them out to that sort of degree in one sitting. Oh well, there was always the rest of the night, or the following morning, if they allowed themselves a respite then.

Gently Chris eased out of Evan, only mildly surprised when the smaller immediately turned and burrowed against his chest, a leg loosely twining over Chris’ own, an arm around his middle and his head nestled atop Chris’ pectoral. Draping an arm around Evan (and lightly wondering about why he was happy to cuddle suddenly when usually post-sex he liked a bit of space to calm down cool down) Chris absently stroked the other’s back with his fingertips, feeling Evan shifting occasionally against him as though the gesture tickled. “Did I meet your expectations?” Chris tried to come off joking, but mostly he just sounded worn-out and wheezy and he mentally cringed; way to show off his age he scolded himself mentally. Evan gave a satiated sounding chuckle and rubbed Chris’ stomach gently.

“If we don’t do that again in like… ten minutes, I am going to be very upset,” and for all he was already anticipating the next round with his newly instated complete lover Evan’s eyes were closing, and before Chris had even reached to pull the covers over their rapidly cooling bodies the ravenette was dead to the world, breathing deep and even. Weariness immediately crept over Chris after realising Evan had already nodded off, but the blonde found that he couldn’t immediately surrender to it. He didn’t regret what had happened but he still couldn’t shake the fact that he was again missing something. Needless to say he wasn’t enjoying this feeling anymore each time he felt it. Still… he could always try and ask in the morning, for now he would just let Evan sleep. He seemed to need it.

~::~

“You look like you’re thinking about something pretty important,” Cody commented softly as he moved over to where Ted was seated on the couch, looking up at the church painting that they had purchased the first time they had gone into town. Ted looked momentarily stricken, fearing that he had awoken Cody undoubtedly, but Cody had only really awoken a few moments after he’d realised Ted hadn’t just left the bed to go to the bathroom. Wrapping his arms around Ted’s neck gently as he sat beside him Cody pressed a kiss to his cheek and murmured, “You OK baby?” if it weren’t for Ted waking him up Cody most likely wouldn’t have ever seen six-thirty, which he had seen from the bedside clock that the time was. Actually, he didn’t understand why Ted was awake that early yet.

“I’m OK,” Ted said softly, draping an arm around Cody’s middle and resting his forehead on the darker haired male’s. As Ted continued to stare at the picture Cody felt an uneasy sensation welling in his stomach; had Ted somehow remembered about his father’s past occupation? “I just… couldn’t sleep. And I didn’t want to wake you by putting the TV on in the bedroom,” Cody wanted to point out that he didn’t have the TV on in the living-room either but decided that he would only just be looking for trouble if he did something as pedantic as that. “I wouldn’t have minded… I don’t like being in bed without you,” Cody admitted softly and then blushed as he realised how mushy he sounded. He doubted even a sixteen year old girl could be that embarrassing in her romantic declarations.

From the smile on Ted’s face though he appeared to like the sentimental thought, although that didn’t surprise Cody; he had noticed recently that Ted (and the other units) seemed to have something almost like a compulsion to be deemed needed by their handlers. Not that Cody minded, because he did need Ted, probably more than the other knew, and that was what made him a little uneasy in his own feelings. What if Ted would be happier with someone else? What if there was someone else out there more perfect for Ted? Of course he didn’t like to consider it and Ted insisted that he hadn’t fallen for Cody just because of their conditioning, but that didn’t mean it was easy to shake off the thoughts. Especially in considering Ted’s former affiliations with religion on top of everything else.

“I like that you need me, Cody…” Ted said softly, tilting Cody’s chin up gently with his other hand, and Cody felt his world zeroing in on Ted’s perfectly blue eyes and his lusciously kissable lips, “I want you to need me more than you’ve ever needed anyone before,” he confessed and Cody nodded. Although whether he was sincerely accepting what Ted wanted or too hypnotised by his closeness Ted had no idea. Still, Cody certainly did wonders for his ego. Unable to resist the way Cody licked his bottom lip gently, expectantly, Ted leant and pressed their lips together, kissing Cody chastely until he realised that the other would take more from him. And he hadn’t even brushed his teeth yet. That had to be a mark of something more than a basic attraction, though he’d never thought otherwise. 

~::~

“I still can’t believe they did it,” Randy mused as he leant against the side, clad only in some boxers that left very little to the imagination… and he was fairly sure that was why he was wearing them. “What?” John asked, having been valiantly trying to focus on the paper he had on the table before him but with Randy looking like an escapee from some cheeky calendar he was having a difficult time centring his attention where it should have been. A slight smirk curled the corner of Randy’s lips and John knew in that moment that his lover knew full-well what he was doing and that he was relishing the fact that John couldn’t take his eyes off of him. Anyone else and Randy was happy with passing notice, but with John he wanted to be the centre of the man’s attention every minute that he could.

“Wade and Justin,” he reminded and John blinked a few times before Randy saw the proverbial light-bulb going off above his head. “Oh! Right, yeah, surprising,” John agreed and then cocked his head, “Um… why do you find in surprising?” he asked curiously; after all they had done it, and he was pretty damn sure that Evan and Chris had (he thought he’d heard some odd noises last night, but he could be a heavy sleeper when he wanted to be--- it was most likely the Chinese and beer doubling back on him) and that if Cody and Ted hadn’t they were likely to be close to. Randy cocked his head to one side as though considering something, his free hand absently resting on his stomach and lazily tapping out a tuneless rhythm as he did. “Well,” he finally said after a few moments, “It’s Wade.”

John’s brow furrowed; although he couldn’t say Wade was exactly his type he couldn’t call the man ugly, even his slightly crooked nose had a little roguish charm to it… he wouldn’t tell Randy that though because he knew how he got. “How’d you mean?” he asked, “He’s not that old,” he pointed out. Wade was barely older than himself he hazarded… did Randy think he would soon be put out to pasture? Pulling a light face at John, Randy then clucked his tongue, “I don’t mean like I don’t think he could, I doubt he’s popping the old V-Pill yet—“John snorted, Randy smirking slightly before continuing, “I just meant that he doesn’t really seem interested in that kind of thing if I’m honest.” John could see where he was coming from: Wade did seem all work and no play most of the time.

“Well, looks like he’s finally reached his inner hormones,” John toasted the air with his mug and drained the last of his coffee, “More power to him… Maybe we should think about having the ceilings and floors sound-proofed though if you guys can hear that well.” John’s cheeks coloured and Randy all but sauntered over to him, neatly seating himself in John’s lap and draping his arms around the man’s neck, fingers massaging the back of his neck and then down to his shoulder, “Why John,” he teased, “Are you embarrassed?” when John swallowed thickly and shook his head Randy sighed as though disappointed. “Shame…” he then leant in and murmured huskily, “Wanna give them something to be embarrassed about?” in a tone that had all of John’s blood rushing south double-time quick.

~:~

“Aw, John.” Randy sounded almost saddened. “You don't wanna give 'em a show? I know that the two of us sound better than any of the others in this building and though you might not believe it, I know from hearing. Trust me, they can all be as hot as they like but you and me? We put 'em all to shame.”

“Nothing like modesty,” mumbled John, who was a little embarrassed by the reminder that they might have been heard before. It wasn't until he realised the units were listening in to Wade and Justin that he had realised they could hear more of what was going on than he could and who knew how many times Ted and Cody, directly below them, had overheard something happening? 

“Hey, maybe we turn them on enough to stop being all shy and get on with it.” Randy grinned slightly. “You wouldn't want to withdraw that service and make Ted and Cody have to sort it out for themselves would you? That would be cruel.”

John smirked. “So, we should screw right here, right now, as our civil duty to our friends?”

“Exactly.” Randy chuckled and moved forward to nip on John's ear, something that always sent a shiver down his spine and didn't fail this time either. 

“Sounds like a fine idea,” said John hoarsely. “With one condition.”

Randy leaned back and raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“You have to get over your own inhibitions. We're not doing a thing unless you top.”

“John...” Randy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I already told you. I don't think I can. I mean, if I harmed you it'd be really bad for me, up here?” He moved his hand to rap the side of his head lightly with his knuckles. “And that's even without thinking about what it might do to you--”

“Have you had any ill-effects?”

Randy shrugged. “No.”

“So why should I be any different? And anyway, if there was ever anyone I trusted to do that to me, it's you.”

Randy looked undecided. “Really?”

“Really.” John looked away a moment. “Of course, if you really don't want to then that's fine, I would never force you. You just might have to accept that Justin will probably take care of his handler before you do---”

“What?”

“Well, you said they were really going for it. Seems likely that they'd get to that part pretty quickly. But it's nice that you'd let Justin have that particular bragging right.”

“Nice?”

“Nice,” repeated John. “That's you all over Randy, nice as pie...”

Randy slid off John's knee quickly, grabbing John's wrist and pulling him up. A second later John found himself bend over the table, his paper gone flying, the pieces fluttering to the floor. “Hey!”

“You wanted me over the fucking inhibitions,” growled Randy and a moment later John's boxers were yanked down, pooling around his feet. There was a part of John that wanted to make this a whole lot more difficult for Randy, if not seriously so because the protest was just a part of the game, but he managed to rein himself in. If he showed any kind of refusal then Randy would back all the way off and it would take him a long time to get back to this point. 

John was vaguely aware of Randy dropping to his knees behind him but was far more aware of the man's breath against his ass, almost as if he were debating what his next move was. John managed to keep himself in check rather than commenting and the moment stretched out for what seemed like a long time – right up until unexpectedly, Randy bit his ass cheek sharply. John almost jumped out of his skin. “Hey!”

“That was for calling me nice,” said Randy with a chuckle, kissing the spot he'd just bitten and then backing off a little. John wondered if he had changed his mind but then felt something warm and wet probing his entrance – Randy's fingers, slicked up with spittle. That explained the pause and John caught his breath as he felt one of those fingers gently breech him. Randy seemed uncertain, taking his time in spite of the bravado and it had been a long, long time since John had been in this position with anyone – and he used the term loosely, there had never been a time when a partner took him over the kitchen table before they even managed to have their breakfast.

“John, you're tight--” Randy's voice held equal amounts of wariness and lust, giving John the chance of backing out and yet John sensed there was a part of the other man that didn't really want him to call it off. 

“I'm sure you'll fix that,” he said, a little breathless already, his fingers gripping the edge of the table as Randy set his mouth to work as well, kissing and nipping the inside of his thighs. John moaned slightly as Randy slid another finger inside him and he sensed Randy's hesitation again, making sure to gasp an affirmative before he could stop. Emboldened, Randy pressed his fingers deeper inside John, scissoring them, opening his lover up to him. John groaned quietly, wanting Randy to hurry it up and not quite daring to say so. He wanted Randy to be comfortable with what he was doing, not acting out of some need to please John no matter whether it was something he wanted or not. 

He was rather startled then when he heard Randy chuckle. “I thought we were supposed to be giving an aural show to the rest of the building?” he said with a tone of amusement. “You're far too quiet John. Let me fix that--”

He pressed a third finger inside John at the same time as his tongue ran over John's balls. This time John couldn't quieten his moan, moving his legs further apart so that Randy had better access to him. No one had ever done that from behind, while he was standing up no less, but Randy didn't seem to bother overmuch about that kind of thing. He licked and sucked at John's balls, whipping the older man into a frenzy, so much so that he barely noticed any discomfort as Randy prepared him. His body felt like it was on fire, Randy could have done anything, asked anything of him and he would have agreed as long as this treatment continued.

“Randy,” he moaned loudly, not giving a shit if Cody and Ted downstairs heard every sound that fell from his mouth. Given that Randy could do this kind of thing when he had been so reticent about it, he didn't feel much like keeping things to himself. That made him feel rather wanton, unlike himself when he was usually pretty close-mouthed about his sex life in all senses of the word, but he couldn't say that he disliked the feeling. Giving his pleasure over to Randy for the moment just showed how much trust he had in the man, or at least he hoped Randy saw it that way. 

“I need you--” His words cut off as Randy scraped his teeth lightly over his sac, not something that he'd ever desired before and startling in the way it flooded lust all the way through him. He moaned, struggled to get his thoughts together. “I need you inside me now.”

“What, right now?”

“Yes!” 

Randy sighed, his breath tickling John's balls still further and gaining another moan from him. “I don't know, I'm kinda enjoying myself here. Maybe if you used the magic word?”

“Please!” John spoke so fast that the words tripped over one another, ran together. “Please, please Randy. Now!”

“That'll do.” Randy withdrew his fingers, causing John to make an unmasculine sound of disappointment and then another equally unmanly noise when Randy bit his ass again. He looked over his shoulder to see Randy had got to his feet and was standing behind him, one hand on John's hip, staring back at him with a serious expression that belied his earlier playful words. “You sure?”

“I just begged Randy, I – I'm pretty fucking sure!”

A moment later John felt something even thicker than Randy's fingers nudging at his entrance, slipping inside him with a torturous, teasing slowness that took his breath away and made him want to beg all over again. He gripped the edge of the table tightly, somehow managing to stop himself from telling Randy to hurry it up, he needed to feel the other man all the way inside him. But there was something intensely erotic about the care Randy took of him and by the time he felt Randy's groin against his ass and the other man all the way inside him, he was ready to cum without needing much more stimulation. 

But Randy didn't move his hips, although John could hear him breathing heavily. A moment later Randy's hand went to the small of his back, moving up gently until he could feel the tips of the younger man's fingers tracing against the old gunshot wounds there. He knew that they affected Randy in ways he never really wanted to talk about and it was the one thing that broke through his lust enough for him to get a hold of his desire to let go already. 

John looked over his shoulder again, seeing Randy's rather thoughtful face as he moved his fingers over the scars. And then he met John's eyes, a smile coming over his face as he moved his hand to grip John's hips and slowly, deliberately, thrust himself deeper inside his lover. 

John let out a quiet yell, gripping the table again as Randy surged into him, seeming to have forgotten all about his inhibitions as he started up a rapid pace. John found that he couldn't keep himself quiet as Randy moved into him, the sound of their skin slapping together and their combined moans perhaps the most erotic sound he had ever heard. He didn't even register the quiet squeak of the table moving slightly, driven forward by their increasingly frenzied motions. 

John drove himself back on Randy with every thrust, moaning his lovers name and admissions of how good he felt, how much he wanted this. He was so damned close he could hear it in his own voice and as soon as he tried to tell Randy, the younger man slid his hands further down John's hips and lifted him slightly, pushing him forward so that he was spread even more across the table. From that angle it was a whole lot harder to move back on Randy's cock but it mattered a whole lot less because Randy was slamming against his prostate now and John all but howled as he allowed Randy to control their movements. Randy's own cries had become pretty much continuous by that point as well and John thought that his own name had never sounded as good as it did when spoken by Randy on the verge of orgasm. 

Randy slammed into his prostate again and John's barrier broke, yelling out his bliss to the entire kitchen and anyone else who cared to be listening to him. He could feel himself throbbing even though Randy hadn't actually touched his cock, his inner muscles tightening around Randy to keep him buried deep inside. It wasn't about to happen; Randy made some inarticulate growl of his own and a moment later John felt the heat of Randy's release inside him. It was so unexpected and yet needed that it prolonged John's own release, causing him to grab onto the table so hard he wouldn't have been at all surprised if he hadn't left his fingerprints buried in the wood. 

When he was slightly more recovered Randy let John get his footing back, pulling out of his lover and smiling a little sheepishly (but still with pride) as John used the table to push himself upright, glanced over at a chair and then seemed to change his mind. “We have to eat off of this table y'know,” he said, trying to sound scolding as he indicated to what he had left on there but blushing instead. 

“Looks delicious,” purred Randy, smirking a little as John somehow managed to blush even redder. “Is that what you wanted me to do?”

“It's exactly what I wanted.” John looked like he wanted to take a couple of steps toward Randy but didn't trust his legs yet. “You to realise that you're not gonna hurt me. I'm not made of glass and you can take me any time you and I like and you won't hurt me.”

“Well...” Randy nodded. “Okay, I believe you. If you promise you're not just covering?”

“I promise. I might ache a little, but it's a good ache. A great ache.” John grinned wickedly. “I'm glad to have it. Although I think I could stand to take a few minutes to rest up.”

“Me too.” Randy extended his hand to John. “What say we go lie on the bed for a little while?”

“That sounds like the second-best idea you've had all morning.” John accepted the hand and the offer of a little rest with more gratitude than he let on. Secretly, he was just glad that there was another thing out of the way, something else that made them more equals than they had been before. He had never liked the feeling that Randy took all his orders from John and here was just a little something to level the playing field.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: A Not-So Harmless Errand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody travels to the Calloway Brothers' shop to pick up a package for Wade and what he retrieves surprises him-- though not as much as running into the bomb-delivering 'pizza boy' again.

“Teddy, really, I don’t need you to come with me,” Cody assured as he pulled up the zipper of the white and black hoody he wore, the collar or his white shirt visible through the small gap. His black jeans clung to his legs most invitingly and Ted mentally groaned about the fact that they had been interrupted that morning… they had been so close this time he knew to actually... And now the office was back in commission and so they were back on their old routine. And, on the subject of news: it’d been five days since Wade’s operation on Jack, and the blonde had awoken the previous evening. He was disoriented, confused, but as far as any of the doctors could tell there wasn’t any lingering neural damage. The relief on the Brit’s face when he had told them all had been indescribable.

A heavy frown marred Ted’s face as he watched Cody slipping some shoes on, inspecting himself in the mirror. “I don’t see why I can’t come with you,” he insisted, dressed himself in a t-shirt and sweats since they were having combat training that morning. They had expected Alex would take longer off given everything that had happened… but Chris had commented that Mike was probably the one who insisted they get back to normal as soon as possible. Normalcy meant structure and structure meant comfort… and despite Alex’s best efforts Mike could probably use all of the extra comfort he could get right then. “It’s just a little drive into town to collect this parcel, OK? Nothing major, no danger,” Cody assured. After all, he was hardly someone considered a target within the company in general terms.

For all Cody had high access to the admin side of things he wasn’t naïve to the fact that even now most people wrote him off as being a little desk-jockey who was only there because daddy had pulled the strings for him to be there. It was frustrating because Cody was far from simple-minded but he had long since accepted that those kinds of stigmas were hard to shake off. The only thing he really would be of worth about was Ted and the other units, and even then he didn’t know the deep intricate fascinations of what their replacement limbs and suchlike had been created from. All in all Cody had been having a bit of self-doubt recently regarding his worth in the company, and he didn’t even know what had spurned it. Getting away from the apartments would probably do him some good.

Leaving Ted behind wasn’t something he was happy to do but he knew Ted had grown frustrated from the lack of physical exercise (undoubtedly in more ways than one, he thought with a blush) and being essentially confined to the apartments and he didn’t want to take the other from the first session in over two weeks now. “If it’ll make you feel better I promise I have my side-arm—“he patted his hoody-side, a small lump of a gun holster being revealed as he did, “—and I’ll keep a comm. in, OK?” to the untrained eye the implement that Cody nestled into his ear looked like a bog-standard hands-free kit for a mobile phone, or a fancy hearing-aid. No one would think twice about seeing him wearing it. Ted was still pouting and Cody moved forward, leaning in and brushing their lips together, “I’ll be quick.”

Kissing Cody back Ted then embraced him firmly, face pressing into Cody’s sweet smelling hair, “You better go right there and come right back,” Ted said firmly. Cody might not think he had any worth but if you asked Ted he’d most likely talk himself into a frenzy about what value Cody had. “I will,” Cody assured, genuinely believing that he wouldn’t face any problems; no more attempts had been made on the company or any employees within, and although Alberto and Christian were still going around with enhanced security things seemed to have calmed down greatly since the initial bombing. Walking down with Ted to meet the others at the mini-bus Cody then squeezed Ted’s shoulder affectionately and tapped his ear in reminder, bidding the others goodbye and heading to the garages.

You needed a key and a pass-code to access the carefully camouflaged entrance to the garages and Cody always thought it seemed like something out of an over-expectant spy film to have to do all of this just to get to his car. The Aston was sitting there, perfectly polished as always (they had a group of top, thoroughly vetted mechanics who worked on all of their vehicles, domestic or otherwise) and Cody sighed at the prospect of driving around it in without Ted, he hadn’t had the other in his car yet. Cody almost fumbled with the image that that brought to mind and almost whimpered as his key came perilously close to scratching the perfect paintwork. Mercifully though it missed and Cody mentally slapped himself as he climbed inside and then buckled up securely before starting the engine.

~::~

The drive into town seemed to take no time at all and Cody was mildly surprised about the fact that there seemed to be no traffic; even on the weekends there always seemed to be a good number of cars around, so for the streets to seem so empty of vehicles… Shaking himself firmly Cody chastised himself; he was spooking himself over nothing, so what if there weren’t any cars? It was a nice day and there was a large number of pedestrians… they were all just walking. Pulling up in a parking-lot near an underground station access Cody locked up his car behind him and walked a couple of metres to what seemed to be a blind alley, ducking down into it and walking until he reached the end. There was an obscure looking door, almost the same colour as the dirty brick wall it was set in.

Knocking on the door he let himself in, swallowing thickly as he felt the same sense of trepidation fill him that always hit him when he entered the Calloway Bros. Importation-Exportation Co. Cody had always doubted whether exports and imports were really all they did, but he wasn’t in the position to judge; Wade had been dealing with the pair for years and had never had an issue with them, and as far as they could tell none of their competitors even knew the place existed despite the fact that it was Wade’s primary source of new equipment or medicines and suchlike. At least, Cody assumed that was what he was there to pick up. “Mr Calloway?” he called lightly, not seeing anyone behind the counter. “Not quite,” came an amused female voice called and Cody almost jumped in surprise.

He hadn’t even noticed the blonde woman was there even though he supposed a woman climbing a step-ladder would usually draw your attention quickly. “Mrs Calloway?” he tried a little uncertainly; Wade had vaguely mentioned something about one of the owners being married but Cody didn’t know which. “Please,” the blonde woman (tall and athletic looking, not unattractive but with a slightly sharp face) smiled and stepped down from the ladder and straightened up, “Call me Michelle. Are you Cody? Mark told me you’d be coming in this morning… Come on,” she motioned him to follow her to the back of the shop and Cody did so, mildly surprised to see that the back was actually bright and airy, whereas the front of the shop seemed to have an atmosphere of something dark and slightly ominous.

“Sorry to come by so early,” he said, wondering if maybe she wasn’t even intending to open shop that day if her husband wasn’t there, “But Wade told me he needed… whatever it is, today,” he grinned sheepishly and Michelle chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Mark’s just sorry he couldn’t be here personally to give it to him,” she bent down and reached underneath what seemed to be a bureau-drawer and pulled out… “A violin case?” Cody repeated dubiously and Michelle’s expression seemed to grow all the more amused, making Cody think he was definitely missing something. “Well, God forbid anyone catch you carrying this,” she flipped the case open and revealed perfectly aligned and organised pieces of what appeared to be several small guns, and a few tubes and vials. Cody stared.

“Smallest hand-gun ever made, but with the power of a semi-automatic. This thing could blow you away with as much force as a shot-gun I’d bet,” she mused, indicating how many guns there were (four) and the bullets that accompanied them. “What are those?” Cody asked, supposing that the guns were for the units for whatever job they would be on next. A frown touched Michelle’s lips then, “I don’t really know,” she admitted, “But Mark said to tell you to tell Wade that everything’s there just as he wanted… but not to waste any of it because it’s hard to get hold of.” Cody mentally filed that thought away and accepted the violin case once Michelle had securely zipped it closed once more. She then walked him to the door, and Cody thanked her, shaking her hand and bidding her goodbye.

Almost as soon as Cody reached the street where he had parked his car he knew something was wrong. People were screaming and running from the subway, others seemed to have attempted to get out and then been knocked to the floor. When the ground rumbled underneath Cody’s feet and he too was brought to his knees the ravenette understood. “Oh shit,” he hissed, completely forgetting that Ted would undoubtedly have caught that and would be about to demand what was happening. However, Cody’s attention was completely distracted by the figure he saw moving away from the subway. He was wearing a cap pulled down low, a bag over his shoulder and… a pizza delivery uniform. Cody’s heart was in his throat; that had to be the same guy from the office bombing.

“Motherfucker!” Cody snarled, getting to his feet, the violin-case securely in hand, as he started after the suspect. “Cody?” Ted’s urgent voice sounded in his ear as clearly as though the man was stood by him, and Cody would have jumped had he not recalled the earpiece he wore, “Cody talk to me, what happened? Are you hurt?” Ted sounded panicked and Cody did feel bad about that, but right then he had something more pressing to deal with than reassuring his lover. “I think that the bomber just struck again… morning commuters at the subway in town, east side portion, it’s fucking chaos out here. I’m going after him. Tell John or someone to get our bomb boys down here, and get it done quick.” He rounded a corner and saw the delivery boy was running down, and… was he laughing?

Ignoring the frantic questions coming from his ear Cody shouted, “Freeze, you’re under arrest!” Ok, he wasn’t a cop and technically didn’t have jurisdiction but surely a citizen’s arrest would apply in this circumstance? The laughter got louder and Cody had a sudden vision of The Joker laughing at Batman as he chased him right into a trap… this guy had to be a fucking lunatic. Reaching into his hoody with his free hand Cody pulled out his gun and cocked it. Vaguely he was aware that Ted’s shouting in his ear had increased, other voices joining it, but he could barely make out what they were saying. The blood was roaring in his ears so badly that it overrode everything else around him. The pizza delivery guy rounded a corner and Cody brought his gun up, “Stop or I’ll shoot!” he called.

When he had first been granted his weapons permit Christian had been very firm about telling him about expected ‘disclaimers’ that you had to use if you intended to utilise your weapon. Everyone had them, he insisted, even the police, hence why they had to announce half of the things they were going to do before they did them to avoid a potential lawsuit. The delivery boy didn’t stop so Cody fired, missed, and fired a second shot. His quarry managed to just dodge out of the way, and Cody noticed his cap had fallen off. The shock at seeing the bright purple hair was enough to make Cody hesitate, and the split-second he gave meant that the delivery-boy had an opening. Reaching into his bag he rounded on Cody and then straightened up, extending his hand where Cody could see it.

“One move Mr Policeman and I’ll blow the both of us sky high. This may not look that big but… Neither did the one in the pizza,” Cody knew in that moment that he had to be standing across from a psychopath. His gun hand shook slightly but he prayed that it wouldn’t be visible to the other from the distance separating them. “You wouldn’t… what good would it be for you to die here?” he asked, and pizza-boy stilled a little, “Well, it would put ol’ Johnny out yeah, but I’m not afraid to die. Actually, to know I did with company, that would be nice…” A cold finger of fear traced down Cody’s spine. “No!” he shouted as the hand came up and down, the small black box started to beep rapidly. Cody hit the ground automatically, covering his head with his arms as a blinding flash illuminated the area...

But there was no boom, and when he looked up the purple-haired nut-job was gone.

~:~

“Wade,” snapped Ted, all business in spite of the wild fear in his eyes. “Where ever the hell you sent Cody, we need to get there, now.”

Wade had been the one driving them to the corporation headquarters and now he thanked his lucky stars for that small blessing as he changed direction and headed at speed toward the Calloway Brothers, cursing himself under his breath. There was no reason why he couldn't have gone himself but he had actually wanted to go with Justin while Cody had mentioned that it might be nice to go out by himself without Ted insisting that he went along... if Ted had somewhere else to be, Wade had reasoned, then Cody would get the little break that he wanted. And he decided that it had to be hard to be in a relationship with someone who you worked with, lived with – he was still very much in the honeymoon phase and his work meant that he did get time away from Justin, even if it was just in the next room. Cody didn't have the same thing and Wade had thought the time with his own thoughts might be good for him. Instead it seemed that his good intentions had put Cody right in harms way. 

Ted had his hand to the spot under his ear where his comm was buried beneath the skin, listening carefully and occasionally telling Cody to tell him what the hell was going on. It seemed like Cody couldn't however, although Wade overheard enough to know that Cody wasn't just in danger because of what was happening in the street. The orders of don't approach him Cody and fuck Cody, get away penetrated his concentration and he realised he was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white. Sometimes there was another voice from one of the others but most of the time everyone was quiet, listening in to what Cody was saying, the comm Cody wore too quiet to be heard in the front seat but Wade could make out shouting and somehow coaxed more speed out of the van. But no matter how quiet Cody had found the morning, now there were cars all over the place. News of the explosion had travelled fast and as well as the emergency vehicles, there were cars trying to detour to avoid the area and some actively trying to get in, to see the excitement first-hand, a voyeurism that never failed to make Wade feel ill. He had been too close to too many serious injuries and suffering people to be titillated by the sight of carnage. 

The road became impassable at the same time that Ted shouted, “Cody!” His voice was higher than usual, almost a scream and Wade inadvertently hit the accelerator and jerked the wheel, scraping the kerb and coming to a clumsy stop before turning his head to listen in to what was happening. Everyone had gone quiet and the only sounds were from outside the bus, screams and sirens and the kind of noises that gave Wade an unwelcome flashback to his army days. He could guess that the streets would be chaotic but he wasn't focused on that, his attention on the sounds he could hear from the back of the bus...

And then he heard Cody's voice and saw Ted sag with relief. He gave a quick nod, giving a quick reminder that he had plenty of time to blame himself for any consequences later on, for the moment he was the one who knew where Cody was and had to lead the others to him. 

“We can't go any further,” he said over his shoulder. “Road's blocked. We gotta walk.”

“We gotta walk,” returned Justin. “You stay here.”

There was nodding from the units and Wade closed his eyes a moment. “You need me to go with. For one, I know where the place is without thinking about it and we know Cody's around there. For another, I'm a doctor and I might be able to help.”

“I've got field training in first aid,” added John. “I'm used to this kinda thing.”

“And I'm not being left behind,” added Chris. Evan looked like he might be about to argue but Chris silenced him with a look. “Less talk, more finding Cody.”

“Cody, we're having to walk the last part, the roads are blocked,” said Ted, using his earpiece. Formerly they had also been able to track his voice on the radio in the back of the bus but they could hardly take that with them. For the moment, the only person who could hear Cody was Ted and vice versa. “Hold tight, we'll be there in two.” 

They weren't as far as Ted had feared when the saw Cody, stood on a corner and looking slightly shell-shocked. Ted dashed over there, paying no attention at all to the other people in the area who were limping, bleeding or crying, nor to those some distance away who had sat or fallen. “Cody, damn! Are you hurt?”

Cody shook his head, all but falling into Ted's arms. “No, but – I saw him. The delivery guy. It had to be the same one but I wasn't sure – I tried to stop him and his hat came off and his hair was purple, not red. And he said...”

“I heard.” Ted's face was grim and no one envied the delivery guy. Had it been their partner he would have been dead and they all knew damn well that Ted was willing and remorseless about killing when he had no personal stake in the matter. This time though, there was going to be fireworks.

Cody looked bemused a moment, then touched his comm with a finger and nodded, almost as if he had forgotten it although he had kept in touch with Ted using it. “He set off the bomb. He said we were going to die together and I hit the floor, not that it would have done any good. But it wasn't a bomb, he lied to me. It was just a – I dunno, a flash bomb perhaps. Made a noise and it flashed, but there was no explosion. And then he was gone and I can't believe I'm still alive!”

He hugged Ted tighter and felt the man's arms pulling him still closer. “Thank God,” said Ted fervently, only Cody noticing the epithet that spoke of Ted's prior life and even that was pretty general, nothing to worry about he was sure. Not that he was in a position to worry. He had thought that he was about to get blown sky-high and Ted's choice of words was not the first thing on his mind. 

Ted released Cody a little, turned him around and pushed him in Wade's general direction. “Is he okay?” Ted demanded, while Cody looked slightly embarrassed, feeling about five years old. 

Wade looked Cody over. “Scratched, bruised, shock,” he said brusquely. “He'll be fine, better once he gets the hell out of here. If you'll excuse me--” He nodded over to where there were people who had clearly been involved in the main part of the explosion and were suffering the shock. “They have more than that and we'll deal with what's in front of us first.”

“Not alone, if that guy's still running around,” replied Justin immediately. “I'm going with.”

No one bothered to argue with him and Wade headed off, Justin right behind him and after a quick word with one of the officers who had arrived quickly on the scene only to find he was one of the few dealing with a massive event, went over to the injured and started quickly and efficiently dealing with them, while Justin hovered in the background. 

Randy looked around. “Ted, stay with Cody. It's best if he doesn't get involved in any of this. Ev, come with me. Let's see if we can't help out over there.”

“We're coming with,” said John in a tone that brooked no argument, indicating to Chris. But Chris was only half-listening. When Randy had ordered Evan to go along with him, there had been a shadow of something on the younger man's face, as if he wasn't exactly pleased about going anywhere with Randy. And that just didn't make any sense. Evan had never had a problem partnering Randy before.   
Randy looked back at John with exasperation. “You realise the guy that did this is out there and he's fucking nuts? And he might still be hanging around?”

“I think Cody scared him off,” said John, refusing to look away from Randy's challenging gaze. “There's been a bomb and there aren't enough cops on the scene yet, the ones that are can barely deal with the crowds. We're needed. You and Ev can't do it alone.”

“Dammit John...” Randy shook his head. “Fine but this isn't the traditional situation where you're in charge. In the field, I'm in charge and if I say move, you move.”

“I can live with that,” said John amicably, although he had no intentions of running off just because Randy wanted him to. 

They moved over to the site of the most damage, the tunnel leading from the subway. Most people had moved off the stairs leading down and John had time to think that the bomb that had been set off down there couldn't have been that strong, or else had been set off in the tunnels somewhere away from the crowds. Or maybe it had been left in a thankfully empty carriage of some train. Although people were scared and he could see any number of minor injuries, there didn't seem to be very many people with really serious injuries--

“Hey, you four! Get the hell away from there!”

Randy turned, ready to start throwing his weight around and Chris held up a hand to stop him, taking his wallet from his back pocket. “Jericho, Del Rio's militia, special forces. We might be able to help out a little, since you're undermanned for this.”

The cop looked at the chaos around him and nodded. “Fine, but stay safe. If you find anyone injured, you leave them unless there's no choice but to move them. You could make things worse. If there's no immediate danger, leave them be 'til the paramedics get here.”

“Got it.” Chris jerked his head toward the subway entrance. “Let's go.”

“And don't hurt yourselves trying to prove something,” added the cop with a smirk. “We're qualified to handle this, just as soon as backup gets here. It'd just be nice to know there's no one else stuck down there.”

“Great,” muttered Chris as they headed down the stairs. “Just us before the fire department gets here. Perfect. If the air's too bad, we come straight back up.”

“Electrics have gone,” commented John. 

Evan nodded. “And it's smoky but I don't see anyone. Don't hear anyone. Uh... there's a train just before the station. I don't know what's happened but I don't see anyone on the platform and I'm not seeing any movement anywhere.”

Chris raised an eyebrow. He'd always known that Evan's eyes were good but even Randy wasn't able to see that far. “Can you see in the windows?” 

“Nope. It's dark in there and it's a weird position, probably couldn't even if it was lit up.”

“We should check for survivors--”

“No,” said Evan firmly. “You go back up there and tell that cop there's no one moving down here. I'll go in there and look. None of you guys can see and you probably can't even get in the doors if the train really is derailed. The gap's probably pretty small.”

“Ev--”

“I'll watch his back,” said Randy calmly. “John, you go back up with Chris and let the cops know what we've got down here. It's gonna help out the fire department and save them all al lot of time. And they'll know how many ambulances they need.”

Chris shook his head. “I don't like this one bit. If there's anyone in there, come straight back and let us know, we might be able to get Wade here if the paramedics aren't here by then.”

“They might be,” said Randy. “I hear sirens.”

I don't thought Chris but he left Evan and Randy down there, against his better judgement, John going with him. It might be an idea to look around and see if any of them saw the suspicious looking pizza man looking over his work and laughing his crazy ass off. 

~:~

Ted checked Cody over as much as he could while keeping the man decent, frowning over the scrapes on his hands and then accepting that there wasn't much more wrong with him. The whole time he listened to Cody telling him the description of the man who had threatened to blow them both up, taking careful note as he built a mental picture. They hadn't paid enough attention to him last time but this time, Cody had gotten a damned good look at him and on top of that, they had a much better description to go off. That he had changed his hair to some other colour didn't much worry Ted, he knew that every time he went past someone with any colour that wasn't in the usual spectrum he would be eyeing them very suspiciously. Aside from that he got white, six foot or so. Not too telling. Green eyes, Cody mentioned after a moment, maybe hazel. And what seemed to be a tattoo peeking above the collar and perhaps at his cuff as well, it had been hard to be sure since Cody's attention had been on what he assumed could well be the thing to bring about his death. 

I'm not afraid to die, to do it with company might be nice... Ted had heard the words loud and clear over Cody's comm and just recalling them made his jaw set and his fists itch. It might have sounded almost romantic and Ted didn't like that at all. He wasn't sure if it was the allusion to closeness he objected to more than the potential murder of goodness only knew how many people but the threat to kill Cody topped all of those. 

“Cody.” Ted took hold of Cody's upper arms, knowing there was a chance he could be more help where the action was and knowing it made no difference; his primary objective was to protect Cody and there was no way he could leave the man alone after a threat. He comforted himself by taking note of the cops and ambulances and fire engines arriving and knowing he'd probably only be in the way.

“Cody, you could have been hurt today. Hurt or worse.”

Cody shuddered but squared his jaw. “It was just coincidence I was in the area, it might just as well have been Wade, or even anyone else. Or none of us. This place just happens to be at one of the stations that's not quite as busy at this time of day, I just happened to be here at this time because Wade needed something picking up.”

“What the hell was that anyway?”

Cody looked down at the violin case, realising that somehow he'd managed to hang on to it the whole time, although he couldn't guarantee how well the vials had fared with all the falling around. “Weapons. And something else as well. I think Wade's got some plan in mind, but I wish he'd share it.”

“You're walking around with weapons?”

“I was walking around armed! I'm licensed to carry!” Cody sighed and rested a hand on Ted's arm. “Baby, you can't see this as some sign that you have to be with me every time I go out. Shit timing, but it's not usual. You can't let this drive you crazy.”

“Right, this is the second time you've been caught up in something like this and I'm supposed to think it's a coincidence?” Ted shook his head. “No, it can't be. What reason would Lauriniatis have to target a subway station anyway?”

“To draw attention away from him I guess. Make it look like some crazy with no clear target and adding something unexpected makes it look like Alberto's building getting blown up isn't personal.”

Ted looked unconvinced. “Maybe. But I don't like that it was so close to you. I think there's a chance it was set up here in particular because you were in the neighbourhood. And that would mean you're being followed and you shouldn't be alone. And when you think about it – well, who're the people who have been on sight of both bombings? Because it wasn't the delivery boy and I'm sure Wade must have given a name to the cops. We don't need them pinning the blame on us because we work for Alberto and we really don't need them asking awkward questions about us, the units. Maybe once the patent comes in on Wade's modifications, but before that and the whole thing could get out, we could be exposed and Wade might lose out on the patent. Not that it's the money thing but right now, it's the principle of the thing.”

Cody nodded. “We could do with Alberto going public with this then, just as soon as possible. We might actually stop having the world blow up around us then.”

~:~

Fighting the urge to put an unnecessary amount of physical space between himself and Randy, Evan exhaled slightly and then murmured, “Well, no time like the present.” Randy gave a terse nod, jaw set as he looked around the essentially dark underground, “Be careful,” he muttered gruffly and for a moment Evan was transported back to the memory of the tent… And once again he felt like he might be sick with guilt. In the back of his mind he knew he should have probably told Chris the truth about remembering something… but it wasn’t his own relationship he would ruin if he did. I don’t want to be that person and I doubt Randy does either. Evan moved towards the train doors and noticed that there was indeed a small gap. Kneeling down he braced his hands on the doors and pushed carefully.

The gap was tiny he’d squeezed into and he could barely move his arms, but even so the metal yielded underneath his hands after a moment and he grimaced a little, waiting for something to blow up again or the train to collapse or something. Yeesh, why had no one ever told him that being pessimistic was so exhausting? “I’ll be back in a second,” he murmured to Randy, getting down to his knees and then starting to squeeze through the gap he’d created just beforehand. It was smoky and doubly dingy inside, though the smoke was nowhere near as bad as it had been in Del Rio’s office last time around. Absently Evan wondered if it was something that the psycho pizza-boy did with the bombs to make them extra smoky or whether that was just the way things went with such explosives.

Squinting slightly against the smoke and darkness Evan scanned the compartment, guessing that it had been set off nearer the back of the train since it looked slightly mangled but not totalled in the final carriage, the front of the train where he was mainly untouched apart from the leftover damage. If he had to make an educated guess Evan would say that there hadn’t been anyone on-board save for the driver, and he had gotten out he was sure--- he remembered seeing the police talking to someone in a conductor’s uniform. However, just as he was considering moving further back through the train he heard a quiet coughing sound, rasping and painful. Senses on high alert Evan slowly moved towards the back of the carriage, and then almost tripped over in surprise when he saw a young child.

The boy looked no more than six, with curly dark hair and blood sluggishly trickling down his face from a gash on his forehead--- it looked as though he had banged it off of the wall or the seat-bar when the train had jerked to an abrupt halt. Evan’s eyes widened; how had the conductor not realised there was a child on-board? The boy’s eyes were closed and he was breathing a little heavily, which given the state of the air was probably not helping him. Since leaving him would increase the possibility of his dying by carbon monoxide inhalation Evan slowly sunk to his knees, “Can you hear me?” he asked softly, and the child’s eyes fluttered. “I’m going to get you out of here, OK?” he said lowly, reaching tentatively. The child didn’t flinch even when he picked him up, merely lay there limply.

Managing to squeeze out of the gap with the child Evan shouted, “Randy!” and the other was at the edge of the tiny gap moments later startled when he saw the child in Evan’s arms. Carefully, with a bit of uncomfortable manoeuvring to keep the child as free from bumps and knocks as possible Evan got close enough to hand him over. Randy took the child in his arms and looked at Evan almost bemusedly, as though he didn’t know what to do. “Randy, get him out of here. I think he’s OK but I don’t know; he needs medical attention for that cut and the smoke but I don’t think it’s serious. Go, I’ll be fine. I haven’t sensed another human presence on the train but I need to check.” Randy hesitated and Evan said brusquely, “Get the child out, Randy, and then come back and wait for me.”

Clearly Randy didn’t want to leave him behind in case anything else happened, but the child needed aid first. The words seemed to jolt Randy a little and he shook himself, nodding as he turned and started off of the tracks and up to the street. There was an immediate assault of noise from the onlookers and emergency staff alike, John’s eyes widening as he saw Randy handing the child over to a paramedic who immediately started hooking him up to breathing apparatus. Before he could think to question the other about the child and where they had located him Randy was vanishing back down the stairs. His face seemed oddly ashen and John fell back into what he had been doing. They would just ask them both when they returned up; they didn’t need a distraction at a time like this clearly.

In the time it had taken Randy to take the child up and avoid the paramedic’s questioning for the moment Evan had managed to get through two more compartments and was one away from the ending. The back window had blown-out and Evan supposed it was lucky no one had been sitting there otherwise they would have looked like something out of a horror film afterwards. Kicking some more of the glass out Evan tentatively eased through the broken gap and landed on the tracks, keen eyes searching for the source of the explosion. It took a few minutes but then he found it, left at the side of the track near one of the lights. Some of the wall had broken away with the blast but even Evan could assess the damage enough to know that the bomb, for all intents and purposes, was weak.

Whether that had been intentional or the mistake or someone who had never made a bomb before (and given the manner of the assailant he was going to go with the former) Evan didn’t know for sure. Carefully he picked the spent mass of material up, it being cool to the touch and seeming harmless. He knew Chris was most likely going to berate him for picking a bomb up--- but he knew their bomb boys would want to see it, to compare it to the one that had gone off in the offices; John had reported that they had found the leftover bomb when they had cleaned and then repaired the office. Tucking the spent bomb underneath one arm Evan then climbed back into the train, and made his way to the spot where he had first climbed in. Randy was at the side waiting, expression rigid.

“No more people,” he reported back to him, and then indicated the bomb, “Completely spent, here,” Randy took it to set it aside and Evan started to wriggle out of the gap between the train and the wall, thanking whatever it was that had led to him being so flexible; his size would have been no good in this situation without it. Just as he was clearing the train edge though his trousers caught on a torn bit of metal and he staggered--- falling into Randy’s arms when the other moved forward with clear intention to steady him. As his body automatically formatted itself against the one catching him Evan felt a terrible spark of awareness, but not like he had with Chris. And from the look on Randy’s face he had felt something as well, though clearly didn’t have the faintest idea of what to think.

Dragging himself from Randy’s hold with more haste than was likely to be polite Evan mumbled, “Sorry. Thanks.” And then took the bomb back from Randy who released it. Silently the pair walked out of the underground together and reported back to John and Chris. “No more people down there,” Randy muttered eyes off to the left of John’s shoulder somewhat, avoiding his eyes. Evan’s eyes were directed down at the bomb in his hands as he held it out to Chris and asked, “I think this was it. What do you want me to do with it?” Chris knew something was wrong, but that right then they weren’t in the right place to talk about it. Silently he took the bomb and placed it into a nearby bag and then shoved it into his pocket. The two units were silent after that, carefully standing apart.

~::~

“Jeff!” Laurinitus swore he was going to have a heart-attack, or if he didn’t, then either JBL or Mayor McMahon were going to kill him. One with his bare hands most likely, the other with someone he had hired. Either way Laurinitus was pretty much freaking out right now. “What did you do?” he almost moaned in misery, looking to where the artist was sitting as unobtrusively as ever, painting… but this time the painting wasn’t an abstract of colours that was supposed to make you feel something. It was a person. Someone young, with dark hair, and a combination of anger and fear on his face. “Who’s that?” Laurinitus said, a sick feeling settling in his stomach, a feeling that only intensified when Jeff said amicably, “Someone I saw today. Cute isn’t he?” he paused, and then continued shading the hair.   
Considering he had no idea about Jeff’s sexual preferences and had never wanted to know either way Laurinitus didn’t know if he meant it in any way of actual intent or not. Although he really hoped that Jeff was just making a general, manly observation of the other’s looks. “I like his expression… He’s a very emotional soul,” Jeff hummed, smiling in an eerily vacant way that spoke of the unnatural mind within. Laurinitus felt cold fear crawl up his spine like multiple many-legged insects, for several reasons. “Someone saw you?” he choked out, his face turning slightly grey at the thought. JBL was going to murder him this time he didn’t doubt it for one moment. “Yes,” Jeff didn’t seem worried, and Laurinitus almost frothed at the mouth, “First you blow up a subway, and then you get seen?!”

Shrugging, Jeff said, “I got bored. Besides, I didn’t hurt anyone, no one on it. I don’t hurt innocent people.” The words almost brought hysterical laughter from the unstable man’s boss; given that technically Christian hadn’t done anything technically to any of them, he could be considered an innocent too, and yet Jeff hadn’t hesitated about going after him. “What about the one who saw you, Jeff?” Laurinitus snapped, wondering if what he was about to say had even crossed the man’s mind, “If he identifies you then they’ll all be looking for you!” McMahon may have held the dogs at bay through misplaced evidence and a vague investigation, but that had been when they had been taking out Del Rio… not when his town was personally under attack. And there had been a child on the train.

“For fuck sake Jeff!” Laurinitus groaned, glad at the odd request Jeff had made to have his room sound-proofed for the sake of his concentration; the blinds would obscure anyone seeing in, and the sound-proofing meant that no one was going to hear them. Jeff added a surprisingly dark colour to the lips of his drawing, seeming to pause a moment before adding a blue. He frowned though, and darkened the colour before painting over it. As Laurinitus watched, his sense of desperation mounting, Jeff picked up a sharp artist’s painting pen, and then slashed over the drawing’s cheek. It was a deft, sharp movement, and the red streak left behind immediately looked like blood, as though Jeff had taken a knife to the painting and it could bleed like a real person. Laurinitus’ hair stood on end.

“M-Maybe you should take a few days off work,” Laurinitus stammered slightly as Jeff seemed to sit back, silently assessing the work he had finished. The small splashes of colour on the otherwise blank canvas seemed to make it all the more striking. “Lay low until the hype dies down,” although something already told the dodgy businessman that the hype wouldn’t be dying down as quickly this time around. Jeff shrugged in a way that Laurinitus took as an agreement, and said man swiftly backed up and exited Jeff’s office. He had some serious damage control to do and the sooner he got started the better. Mercifully JBL was off visiting family for the next three days so with any luck he could have distanced them from the situation before the man came back. His jaw throbbed in warning.

~::~

Closing the door behind them both Ted watched as Cody sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. By the time they had managed to get through the crowds and suchlike after the subway fiasco it had turned late afternoon, the entire day’s schedule messed-up. However, when they had called through to Christian and explained he had contacted Alex and from there things had escalated so the Corp. was protecting itself from any mistaken involvement. Normally Alberto would have relished the prospect of his employees being photographed all over the papers doing heroic deeds but this time around he was polite in requesting that the papers kept photos and in-depth descriptions of his men out of the articles and TV pieces that they were doing. They agreed, although most weren’t too pleased over it.

Considering that Alberto had his fingers in most pies within the area though none of them dared defy him lest the found themselves out of a job suddenly, and with a lawsuit on their hands. As Cody vanished into the bedroom, calling something back to Ted about getting a bath, the blonde hesitated moment before making up his mind; he almost lost Cody that day (something that would never happen again if he had anything to do with it) and he was still so scared. To have heard everything Cody was going through, to hear it all, his panic and his fear, and that creepy bastard’s comment… Ted didn’t think he had ever felt so helpless in his life, not even the times when he had forgotten how to do something as simple as make a cup of coffee back in the early days of their new lives.

Praying that what he intended to do would go down relatively smoothly (or at least not be too crippling should Cody say no) Ted moved into the bedroom as well, shedding his clothes along the way. When Cody turned around, expression morphing into one of surprise as he saw the naked state of his lover, Ted reached out and grabbed him around his waist. Cody was almost equally naked, his boxers keeping his modesty… and even then the material wasn’t doing much to hide the automatic reaction he had to seeing his lover in all of his exposed glory. “Teddy?” Cody mumbled, uncertain, a little concerned, but Ted merely shook his head; he didn’t think either of them needed to talk right now. Cody might be saying he was OK, but the hands on his arms were trembling violently.

Ducking his head Ted brushed his lips over Cody’s, arm slipping tightly around his middle as the other hand buried into Cody’s hair, angling him backwards as he deepened the kiss. It seemed that the small action was enough to spur Cody into responding, his lover kissing him back almost desperately. However, Ted could feel a small part of Cody that wanted to pull away, undoubtedly to tell him that the time wasn’t right… But Ted didn’t think there was ever going to be as perfect a moment as Cody imagined for them. One of them could die the following day, and although that awareness had always been there it was only what had happened that day that really brought it home for Ted. He wanted Cody, he needed Cody, and unless Cody told him no and meant it, he was going to have Cody.

Somehow they ended up on the bed, Ted leaning over Cody as they continued to kiss passionately, messily, genuinely. When Ted pulled away Cody whimpered softly, but when Ted’s lips started down his throat to his collarbone he moaned softly instead. It seemed as though Ted was determined to map Cody’s entire body with his lips, and it wasn’t until Ted started to press kisses over his palms after going down his arms that Cody realised what Ted was doing: he was checking him for injuries. And whenever he found one, even if it was pretty much a tiny scrape, he would kiss it tenderly, as though wanting to heal it through affection alone. Cody shivered as Ted’s lips brushed over his fingertips, feeling that he might combust from sheer need at the intense look in Ted’s usually bright eyes.

~:~

Cody made a quiet whimper as Ted kissed his fingertips one by one, sending a shiver through him (who knew that fingertips could be an erogenous zone?) before the blonde drew the first two fingers of the right hand into his mouth and began to suck on them. Cody sighed a little, the action reminding him of something else that Ted had done for him recently. He didn't attach much significance to the action until he realised that Ted was using an awful lot of saliva for someone who was just trying to get a response from him. In fact, he was pretty certain that Ted was lubing up his fingers for another reason, a notion reinforced when he met Ted's eyes and realised just how much desire he could see in the man's eyes. Cody supposed that he had been a little too reticent with Ted, he had known all along that Ted wanted to take the next step but there had been something holding him back, something he didn't acknowledge even as he took note of the naked lust in Ted's eyes. 

“Teddy...” He was aware that his voice sounded rather hoarse and swallowed before he continued, well aware that Ted hadn't stopped his actions while Cody spoke to him. “Are you sure?”

Ted looked steadily at Cody, his lips curled into a smile around Cody's fingers, then nipped at the tips and did something complicated with his tongue that made Cody suddenly very anxious to have Ted do that to other parts of his body... some other time. If Ted was offering himself, Cody didn't feel in any way capable of denying him. He wouldn't have been able to at the best of times and after the day he'd had, he needed to free his mind and lose his fears. He needed Ted.

“You're sure.” Cody gave a sudden quick grin and waited for Ted to release his fingers before putting a hand to Ted's hip and coaxing him onto his back. Ted immediately spread his legs wide, putting an arm behind his head and smiling at Cody, looking so wanton and handsome that Cody was sure he was about three seconds away from shooting his load without needing to be touched. He licked his suddenly dry lips, leaning in to kiss Ted almost chastely as his fingers found Ted's entrance and he slipped one inside...

...And immediately realised that there was something different about Ted to anyone else he'd slept with before. 

Not that his former lovers had been loose especially but Ted was really tight. His muscles gripped Cody's finger so tightly that he was suddenly doubted that he would even be able to enter Ted when the time came given how there was barely room for that minor intrusion. 

It hit him in a flash of inspiration; Ted was a virgin.

He corrected himself hurriedly. It didn't mean he was a virgin and he doubted very much that anyone got to Ted's age looking like he did without having some experience. But it seemed very unlikely he had ever bottomed for another man. All of Cody's doubts came back with a vengeance. What if Ted had been some good boy, some religious boy who had never once so much as kissed another man let alone gone any further? Would he have been with Cody had he had his memories or was all of this simply due to his conditioning rather than any true feeling for him?

Ted sensed Cody's hesitation and drew back as much as the pillow would let him. “What's wrong Cody?” He grazed his lower lip with his teeth. “Is it – something I did?”

And there it was again, the sign that Ted didn't really know what he was doing. There were other things that had come naturally to him, things he had done all the time before he had lost his memory that came back to him without even having to think much about it and it seemed that sex wasn't one of them. Or at least, sex where he was the bottom.

“It's nothing you did,” said Cody reassuringly. “It's just that – Ted, you're so tight. It might take a while for me to – well, for you to be ready for me.”

“Cody, I've got all night.” Ted's smile was rather challenging, something that actually reassured Cody that he wasn't especially nervous, just not sure what on earth he was supposed to be doing... although he seemed to have a good idea and no trepidation. “I'm not in a hurry if you're not.” He raised an eyebrow. “Of course if you are, I won't break.”

“You won't like it either,” said Cody and blushed. He hadn't meant to answer that one out loud. “Uh, if you're still sure Ted. I mean, I don't want to hurt you if I can help it.”

“Codes, you worry too much.” 

Cody smiled a little at the gentle admonishment. If Ted genuinely was a virgin and he never had been with a man, then shouldn't he be flattered rather than freaked out? After all, he had proclaimed his love for Cody over and over and none of the units had gone against their inherent natures at all. If Ted had never been with a man before then maybe his inhibitions had been freed with his lack of memory, or else he had simply never met a man he really wanted to be with before. Either way, Cody was willing to consider it a compliment rather than a drawback. 

He retrieved his lube from the bedside drawer (purchased from the chemist near the corporation when he had claimed to be going to smoke a rare cigarette, he wasn't about to add that to the weekly shopping list, not with the teasing he'd get) and set to work, managing somehow to put his own lust on a backburner as he took care of Ted. The blonde was tight, true, but as Cody patiently worked his slicked-up fingers in and out of Ted, the man started to open up to him. And judging by the sounds he made whenever Cody did something that felt particularly good, he wasn't about to change his mind any time soon. He could hear Ted's breathing growing heavier and shorter, the quiet moans every so often and if there was something good for the ego, that was it. 

Cody tried to put Ted at his ease as much as possible, not that Ted actually seemed to need it all that much, pressing kisses to Ted's thighs, running his tongue up the underside of Ted's cock whenever he grew sure enough to add another finger or scissor them to stretch Ted further. Ted let out quiet cries every time, his hand going to Cody's hair and whenever Cody paused in his activities enough to drink in the sight of Ted lying naked on his sheets, he couldn't help comparing his lover to the kind of pictures that the renaissance painters drew of their models. He was that gorgeous and yet he was real, warm flesh beneath Cody's lips. 

He had no idea how long it took him to be more confident of Ted's ability to take his full length, but the passing of time didn't seem important. He enjoyed every second of it, every expression of content on Ted's face, every sound of pleasure the man made. It wasn't just his ego that was taking joy in making Ted feel good, it was more that if Ted was happy, then he was happy. And there was no way he could do this without making sure that Ted was more than ready. He already knew that the blonde was willing. 

Ted was still going to be tight and he would still have to be careful, taking it slowly for a while, but he thought he had done just about as much as he could with his fingers... well, almost. Ted was giving harsh sighs, murmuring Cody's name every so often and his muscles were more than willing to accept Cody within his body. With a rather secretive smile, Cody curled his fingers a little and pressed them further into his lover, earning a gasp from Ted. Not the reaction he'd been seeking. Carefully he angled his fingers differently and thrust them into Ted again without warning. And this time Ted almost took off, arching his back up with a yell that would probably jolt John and Randy upstairs from whatever sleep they were managing, then pressing himself back on Cody's fingers with a groan of bliss. Cody slyly hit that same spot and Ted thrashed on the bed, moaning. Cody gave him a second to recover, he hadn't exactly expected Ted to try and make any kind of coherent conversation.

“Cody don't, I mean, wait. Cody--” Ted was all but panting, his body undulating against Cody's hand, cock rock-solid against his abs and already weeping. “I don't want to finish before you're inside me.”

“You sure?” asked Cody innocently, just missing Ted's prostate with his next movement and hearing Ted's rather frustrated moan. “Because I can make you cum just like this--”

He hit Ted's prostate with intent and Ted thrashed on the bed, reaching down to grab his cock firmly around the base and turning his head to bury it in the crook of his own arm. “Cody, please. I can't hold back when you do that and I need you inside me!”

Cody was pretty sure that he couldn't refuse a request like that and just watching Ted had left him just as needy as his lover. He withdrew his fingers and used a little extra lube to coat his own cock, pretty sure that Ted's ardour would be calmed a whole lot more when Cody first entered him – he'd done his best but he was still almost sure that there was going to be a sting at least. But there was no way he was going to be a good boy and leave Ted the way he was, no way he could. He positioned himself at Ted's entrance and counselled himself to go slowly, carefully, be aware that Ted was prepared but not experienced and he didn't want to go too fast and harm the man in any way. And somehow he managed to keep his promise to himself, even when he had breached that tight ring and felt the incredible warm tightness that enveloped him. He let out some quiet sound of his own, his entire body telling him to just surge ahead, bury himself to the balls in his lover, only his heart and his concern for his lover allowing him to go as slowly as he was doing. He didn't stop though and Ted's hands were on his back, urging him on, the blonde murmuring encouragement and loving words that Cody could barely make out, the tone telling him what they were.

When he was buried entirely within Ted he paused, trembling with the effort it took him not to let his instinct take over and fuck Ted all the way into the mattress. He let out a long breath, trying to calm himself, no longer in any position to tease. “Teddy... are you okay there baby?”

“I'm okay,” replied Ted huskily, although Cody wasn't a hundred per cent sure he believed him – there was an undertone of something in Ted's voice that said he might be feeling the intrusion and the man's ardour seemed to have cooled a little. But he wasn't admitting it if that was the case and a second later Ted's leg curled almost shyly around Cody's waist, Ted's hips tilting a little in unspoken permission for Cody to continue. 

Cody withdrew from Ted about half way and then sank into him again, keeping the pace as slow as he was able. There were a couple of moments of slight confusion and then Ted picked up the rhythm right along with him, the careful breathing the blonde had used giving way to quiet sounds of pleasure and then louder, more abandoned moans and Cody allowed himself to let go a little more, speeding up a little but still making sure he wasn't doing anything that would harm Ted. It was more difficult than it should have been; Ted felt so fucking good around him that there was a part of him that just wanted to rush to completion. Instead he struggled for control. Before they had begun this he had assumed that he would have the advantage over Ted since the other had never done this before, but the truth was that Cody hadn't either, not like this. It had never been like this for him before and he was learning just the same as Ted was. And although it scared him a little to realise that there had been this sensation that he had never even realised could exist, mostly he was euphoric and he could sense his lover's matching emotions through every touch, every kiss. Ted's hands ran over his body, tugging at his hair as if he had forgotten that he was never supposed to cause Cody even the slightest hurt and Cody welcomed every moment, understanding the need that drove it. 

Knowing that Ted was more than okay Cody stopped holding back, not pounding into Ted with the abandon he had planned – what he was feeling was far too good to rush through to the end, he wanted to enjoy every last second, emblazon it on his brain so that it remained at the forefront of his memories for the rest of his life. But he knew he would never do justice to the feel of Ted's skin or the sensual sounds he made in his memory. And that was only one reason why he was never going to lose Ted. Never. 

“CODY!”

Cody had just enough chance to realise that Ted was there and then Ted's arms were holding him tighter, the man convulsing beneath him. Cody was dimly aware of the hot release coating his abdomen but most of his attention was taken up by the sounds his lover made in the throes of passion, the way he gripped Cody's cock like a vice. And then Ted bit him on the shoulder and Cody was jolted into his own orgasm, thrusting mindlessly into Ted and moaning his name over and over, feeling as though his skin was burning everywhere they touched. 

All his strength gone, Cody collapsed onto Ted, pressing a kiss to the skin beneath his lips. Even that small action exhausted the last of his energy and he was content to lie where he was, still inside Ted as he softened, smiling lazily as he contemplated being able to do that as often as they wanted...

“I'm sorry.”

That at least cut through Cody's catharsis and he raised his head to look Ted in the face. “What? Why?”

“I bit you.” 

Ted looked so contrite that Cody had to bite his lip to stop himself telling the man off for being so sensitive about it. Instead he reached up to stroke Ted's face. “Baby, don't worry about it. I liked it. You being carried away enough to do that...” He chuckled. “I liked it a lot.”

For a second Ted looked like he might argue, or apologise some more, but in the end he just nodded. It occurred to Cody that he was supposed to be the one who was concerned about his lover and forced himself to withdraw from Ted, moving up the bed and to his own side instead of using Ted as some kind of makeshift mattress. “Are you okay?”

“I'm good.” Ted sounded grave but his face broke into a grin. “I liked it a lot myself.”

“So, it's something you'd want to try again then?” asked Cody, the innocent look back on his face and yet still not hiding the wicked glint in his eyes.

“Oh yes.” Ted rolled over so that he could rest an arm over Cody's waist. “You'd better keep your energy up because I think I just became insatiable. For you at least.” 

Cody laughed a little, all thoughts of what had happened that day out of his head. “And only for me,” he murmured before he could stop himself. “Don't you forget it.”


	18. Chapter Seventeen: A Second Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christian and Alberto discuss their employees' relationship statuses, and Laurinaitus works to try and make amends to his pissed-off partners with his unstable weapon.

“--Bomb was planted in the back carriage of an otherwise empty--”

“--Twenty-seven injured but the police chief has said--”

“--Boy had been separated from his father an hour before and told investigators he was trying to get home--”

“--Claims it's a miracle that no one was killed--”

“--Assisted by passers by with military training and a doctor who was on his way to work--”

“--Similar device set off in the office of Alberto Del Rio, who said through a spokesman yesterday--”

Lauriniatis switched off the television in disgust and more than a little fear. Every single news channel was carrying the story of the bombing as the lead and it was only a matter of time before Layfield heard about it and screamed for his blood. Vince had been ominous in his silence and that he hadn't made contact to verbally explode was also a bad sign. It suggested that he wanted to wash his hands of the whole affair and out of all of them, it was Vince who had the best chance to claim ignorance. Not that he would be able to of course. Lauriniatis had made it very clear to his associates that if he were to meet with an unfortunate accident or drop from the radar, his lawyer would be opening a letter that was in his possession and acting upon its orders. For the moment he was more valuable alive and there was a slim chance that if he stayed that way, they might still get out of this.

Trying to distract himself, he tuned into the business channel and looked at the stock. Del Rio's stock had dropped after the attack on his building but as fast as he had managed to get it back in business and with the rumours swirling that he had something big on the table, it had bounced back to almost what it had been before the bombing. Lauriniatis growled. Not only had he not been able to get to Christian, but the attack had changed nothing at all!

Sighing he ran a hand over his face, reminding himself to shave before he made an appearance in public. He had also made some calls to his office and told Vickie to arrange whatever aid might be needed for the bombing and make sure it was known they'd supplied it. He didn't see what might be needed but he was damned if he wasn't going to get something out of this, even if it was only a little publicity. And it wasn't as if the bomb could be traced back to him... or at least, he had to hope. The first one hadn't been and Jeff might be suicidally lax about his well-being but he did seem to understand when recklessness became utter stupidity, at least when it came to leaving a trail. His judgement in other areas was more suspect. 

Maybe it was time that Jeff was removed from the equation altogether. 

Lauriniatis mulled over this a moment, liking the idea. Jeff was making him nervous as hell and given his behaviour even on a casual day, no one would be shocked if he had a little accident. Hell, Jeff didn't seem to have many close friends at work, maybe if it was set up to look like a suicide then no one would question it. Of course he probably had friends outside work and he seemed to remember something about an older sibling, but hell, Jeff was weird and all those emo-types were always slashing their wrists, according to the news. Probably they'd just accept it with a shrug. 

As nice as the idea was, Lauriniatis was forced to concede that it might not be the best idea. Jeff was better out of sight and if he turned up dead and fitting the description of the bomber, it would look suspicious as hell. Not to mention that Jeff knew too much. He might have a failsafe just like Lauriniatis; a letter to the cops should he go missing or die detailing everything he had done and on whose orders and it would be over without Del Rio even having to get his hands dirty.

So Jeff had to stay and yet there seemed to be no way to control him. He didn't seem to want anything material except for art supplies, tattoos and hair dye. He didn't want any other position of power in the company except for the one he had. It was confusing to Lauriniatis, who loved the power that his position brought and the toys that the money bought, but Jeff seemed not to have any buttons to push. Well, there was always the family option but Lauriniatis thought with someone as unstable as his employee, there was a good chance that an indirect threat would lead to his next meal blowing him sky-high. 

He flicked onto the news channel again, his attention grabbed when he heard the tail end of the statement Del Rio had given through his spokesman, claiming that among the first on the scene were soldiers trained in his own militia who had rescued the little boy while the police and paramedics took care of those who had made it out of the station. The men in question had asked not to be named and that act of humility only served to make them seem more heroic to the viewers. Lauriniatis found his mood plummeting still further.

~:~

“It’s happened hasn’t it?” Alberto mused absently to Christian, causing the blonde man to look up from the laptop he was rapidly typing away on. Alberto was sitting on a nearby chair, lounged in a sophisticated and yet most assuredly more casual way than he would have been had he had anyone other than Christian there. “What’s happened?” Christian repeated in puzzlement, wondering for a moment if he had been so focused on his work that he had missed Alberto saying something to him. Alberto sighed gently and then chuckled, “The units, and the handlers. How many of them do you think are involved with each other in one way or another?” Automatically Christian made to answer that he didn’t think any were outside the realm of professional… but that would be a downright lie.

“I don’t know,” he admitted with a casual shrug, “I should imagine most of them if—“he then cut himself off and cocked his head curiously, “Are you not angry?” he asked him mildly surprised; usually Alberto was pretty stringent about personal and work being mixed… unless they were involved of course. The man was famous for double-standards where they were concerned but Christian had long since given up on trying to convince him to play by the same rules as everyone else. “No,” the Mexican shrugged, quirking a smile as he saw Christian’s disbelieving look; he didn’t bother to hide them anymore either, and since he was used to the likes of Ricardo with his sycophant behaviour it was refreshing to have someone who would genuinely call him to task, and tell him the truth of it.

“As I told Dr Adam: as long as they do the jobs they need to do and it doesn’t interfere with their work I have no objections. In fact, I think it would actually do them all some good… extra incentive, if you get my meaning.” After all, if they meant something more to each other deeper than even what was programmed into them they were bound to be even more effective. Tilting his head to one side Christian seemed to consider Alberto’s words for a moment before seeming to decide not to look a gift-horse in the mouth and get on the bandwagon with his lover’s A-OK of the situation. Besides, personally he didn’t have a problem with it… he hadn’t noticed them acting any differently in recent days, now they had finally managed to get weapons training and such starting up again properly.

“That reminds me,” Christian reached behind a folder he had open before him and plucked a post-it from within the mass of paper piled at his desk, “—the handlers called earlier, said they wanted to speak to you when we can arrange a meeting. Preferably without the units. So I would suggest first thing when they are with Alex,” he commented absently as he handed the message to Alberto. The man took it and cocked his head slightly, assessing the words written in Ricardo’s swift scrawl. “Do you know what they wish to talk to me about?” he asked having little doubt that Christian would have probably already called them to see what the topic was, and the necessity of him speaking to him sooner rather than later. And, as he had anticipated, Christian didn’t disappoint him in his answer.

“It’s about… giving the units a formal introduction. The patent of their technology I think,” he frowned softly as he glanced across at the TV wherein they were still playing segments about it even now several days had passed--- although why this shocked Christian he didn’t know. “After everything that’s been happening I guess they see that we’re putting ourselves at unnecessary risk by keeping secrets.” Not that he was exactly thrilled about announcing to the world just how brilliant Wade was if they had already figured it out for themselves, but it was better safe than sorry he was sure. Alberto clucked his tongue and yawned before tossing the post-it aside and pulling his mobile phone from his pocket, tapping some buttons swiftly. Undoubtedly he was texting Ricardo to call the handlers to confirm it. 

~::~

“Something’s wrong isn’t it?” Chris asked, knowing the answer even before Evan spoke given the way the other jumped when he heard him. Placing the carton of milk back into the fridge Evan cleared his throat softly and added a little chocolate mix to it and stirred, Chris pointedly aware of the fact that Evan hadn’t turned around to look around to him. “I don’t know what you mean Chris, nothing’s wrong,” he told him. Weapons training and their combat had been back on that day, as well as a few of the other curriculum lessons that they had interspersed in what they did. Alex had seemed as cheery as always, but this time around Mike’s presence had been a constant fixture and not just one that had a few dramatic minutes before he was off doing whatever it was that he used to do.

The brunette didn’t look any different really, if you hadn’t known what had happened to him. Like Evan his eyes seemed perfectly normal, and like the rest of them his body was as complete as it had always been for all intents and purposes. The only change though was that Mike didn’t seem as chatty as he had once been, and like the units when their handlers were involved in training exercises and such he was jumpy whenever someone landed a move on Alex, actually leaving his seat a moment when Justin had managed to knock Alex to the ground when practising the best ways to turn an opponent’s weight into an advantage for yourself. A look from Alex though and he relaxed, although he looked as though he’d much rather be there preventing anyone from getting their hands on him.

“If you meant with Mike—“Evan started but stopped when he noticed the look that Chris was sending him; apparently he wasn’t going to get away with seguing in this time, although, sadly, Mike could have been the reason why practice had been a little awkward that day horrible as it may seemed. He and Randy were both being obvious now and he knew it. They had barely dared touch one another during most of the exercises, and when they had been paired for takedowns… well, they had been getting off of one another as quickly as possible as opposed to just casually getting up when the moment had passed. And it seemed as though Chris had noticed, and given that he was obviously remembering what Evan had been like the night just before they had made love for the first time.

“With you and Randy--- today you were so awkward you were like--- like a pair of teenagers with a crush!” the words sounded painful to be spoken and Evan winced when he heard them. His eyes widened and he hoped that his look wasn’t as fearful as he felt it might be because although he no longer had any feelings towards Randy that he might apparently have had, he knew that all hell would break loose should the truth come out. Evan might have been able to trust Chris with his life, but he really didn’t he think he could trust him with this. “How can you even say that?” Evan demanded, unable to help his tone becoming both hurt and defensive since it seemed as though Chris was suddenly casually dismissing his feelings as though they hadn’t been worth anything at all to start.

“Well you were!” Chris insisted, pacing back away from Evan somewhat and then forward again, a frown marring his face, “It started the other day with that train bombing and since then you’ve both been so… so awkward with each other!” and although Chris had been telling himself that he was acting foolish and just seeing things and that even their hyper-alert and professional units would have off-days like the rest of them did thanks to the humanity that they had retained. Running a hand through his hair Evan resisted the urge to scream in frustration; why the hell did he have to remember that of all things? If he had remembered some cripplingly embarrassing childhood incident that would have been preferable to this for he would have told Chris immediately, even if it was uncomfortable.

“I’m just feeling a little under the weather,” Evan lied, feeling terrible for doing so because they just seemed to be piling up on him recently, “Like I’m getting a cold, but not,” because obviously they were now much more robust than they had been even if they were still partially human. When Chris’ mouth opened again Evan braced himself for one of the wickedly cutting and deviously cunning tongue-lashings Chris was capable of, but a knock at the door rang out loudly suddenly, causing both men to freeze. “Come on Jericho!” John’s boisterous voice carried through the door as though he was stood in the living-space, “We have to get going otherwise ‘Berto will kick our asses for being late!” The look Chris sent him before he left told Evan that this conversation wasn’t over by a long shot. 

~::~

He’d been trying so hard to get the perfect imagine since the first night, and each time he heard the continued spiel of the newscasters through the TV he had hooked up in the corner of his office his artist’s determination had only increased. His latest addition, the portrait of a person whose name he didn’t know, but whose expression had been haunting his dreams since, was lonely. And Jeff hated to see lonely artwork for all those posers would sit there and say that the more soulful the painting the more worth it had. Each time he had tried to create a friend for his newest exhibit though they had come out wrong… He just couldn’t piece together the person whom his not-quite-assailant had to have been talking to over the earpiece. Ted… he remembered his name. He wondered what he looked like.

Actually, he wondered what all of their friends had to be like. Now he had thought about it he did recognise the person in his painting although his name eluded him. He worked for Del Rio, and he had been there with those other men that day. Those nosy men who had been at the train on the day of the accident, undoubtedly checking on their friend’s wellbeing. Jeff had wanted to goo closer, to see who they were, what they were like, but even he wasn’t stupid enough to consider that Cody wouldn’t have thought to say anything to them about him and so he didn’t want to risk exposure. Johnny was already riding his back like a total square, he could do without the extra hassle on top of it. Which one of those had been Ted? The name hadn’t really stuck out in his mind for any of them.

Paint met brush and then ended up finally with canvas, another of his masterpieces gaining form even as his mind wandered elsewhere. Johnny had been very jumpy the last few days, as though he kept expecting to be attacked from the shadows. Lately he had even been muttering to himself when he was alone as though carrying out a conversation. Jeff knew people thought that he was crazy but even he didn’t do anything like that. Shaking his head somewhat Jeff set his brush down and then selected another, brushing it through the gloopy black pain and then flicking the brush so it landed atop his other paint in little flecks that almost looked like that blood-spatter stuff you saw in films. Dropping the other brush Jeff then grinned as he placed his hand atop all of the paint of his pallet.

Swirling it over the top of the painting he had already done Jeff paused in his artistic haze as he registered something in the back of his awareness--- something that sounded like shouting actually. Really angry shouting. Which was funny really because JBL wasn’t supposed to be back yet… Oh, was that what day it was? Oh, never mind then, he was back, and from the sound of it he wanted Johnny’s head on a platter. Maybe he could go and watch? He thought to himself as he wiped his hands on a nearby rag to get some of the paint off, that would certainly make an interesting addition to his newest works. Opening the door Jeff just managed to shut it too again in time to prevent a ledger smashing into it. Yeah, JBL had definitely returned back from his holiday, and greeting Johnny.

~::~

The mood wasn’t exactly light as John entered the dining-room area with his fellow handlers, Chris especially having been oddly reticent and quiet that evening. And the man could be a complete mega-mouth when he got going. Whenever someone had tried to ask him what was wrong though he had just looked at them in a manner that suggested he didn’t want to talk to anyone and they left him be. He just hoped that Alberto didn’t choose that evening to try and verbally spar with him though… the last thing they needed was for the blonde to lash out because of the mood he was in, for although Chris would feel bad afterwards that would be the worst of his worries really should Alberto take offence. John doubted that he would, but you never knew did you? Men could be strange.

“Sit down, sit down,” Christian waved for them all to sit down and John glanced at the others before doing the same. “So, we shall eat first gentlemen and then we can talk,” he insisted, and the tone he used told everyone else that they should take stock of it. Christian wasn’t at all surprised though for Alberto hated discussing business over dinner, or before he was due to eat his dinner. Breakfast and lunch he didn’t care, he would read the newspapers and reports and talk about it all until he was blue in the face, but dinner? Nope, not happening. John glanced at the others before shrugging--- and then he forgot his reticence entirely when he saw the steaks that they were being served that evening. In the back of his mind he felt guilty that Randy wasn’t there to be eating such top-class food too.

Still, worse came to worse and Randy got offended then John would just take him out for dinner somewhere nice just the two of them when they had the chance to. He knew for a fact Evan and Chris had both been out together alone and so didn’t think there would be much of an issue. The meal passed in relative but not entirely uncomfortable silence, each man eating his fill and having a drink or two, though nothing alcoholic where Wade was concerned since he had become the designated driver that time around. Of course their units had each offered to drive them down and drop them off to pick them up again afterwards but each handler had insisted they didn’t need to fuss and that they would be much more straightforward to just go there together, from A to B.

Once the plates had been cleared away Alberto motioned them all to head into a sitting-room sort of area which was illuminated by a low glow of firelight from across the room in the hearth, low lamps lighting the room as well where the firelight didn’t quite reach. All in all the room had a not-quite romantic but at least sensual atmosphere inside of it. John pretended not to think about what was probably going to happen in that room once they had cleared off; he’d heard-tell that Alberto and Christian hadn’t slept together since the bombing because of the man’s stitches, but now they were gone John didn’t doubt that he would be wanting to take advantage of being able to reconcile with him in that way… John’s own stomach clenched warmly as his mind wandered to Randy momentarily.

Forcing himself back to the moment at hand John shook his head silently with a brief smile as Ricardo circled around them all with some sort of alcoholic drink in-hand, offering it to each man in turn. John noticed that he wasn’t the only one who refused, and he wasn’t just referring to Wade. “I was told that you wanted to talk to me about bringing forward the unveiling of the patent,” Alberto asked as he pulled Christian into his lap, the blonde flushing but he was silent aside from a small tut of embarrassed fondness as he settled atop the other’s lap. “Yes,” John responded before glancing across to Cody; Alberto had been informed of everything that had happened to Mike after his recovery back after the first bombing, and then he had been informed of what had happened to Cody next.

“We think that we’d be less inclined to have any problems with Laurinitus if we had the patent opened up to people so they know about the boys… After all everyone’s under the impression that we have some sort of weapon.” Which wasn’t strictly a lie because their boys technically were weapons but they didn’t have to disclose that to the public, they only had to disclose that to the governing body and that was that. And given that they had been aware of the situation from the beginning they wouldn’t need much more information… this would just be a bit of publicity that they could play off to do with scientific advancements that would help soldiers disfigured in wars (the irony wouldn’t be lost on any of them sadly) and other people who were perhaps born with impairments and disfigurements and suchlike. All in all there was little doubt that they would be enhancing the medicinal side of it.

Alberto was blank-faced as he looked between each handler, as though assessing what they thought about the matter. Somehow John doubted that unless they all agreed Alberto would go through with it. For all he looked and acted as though he was reigning lord supreme he wouldn’t completely go against the will of those involved if it was a very stringent one. One of his hands was absently rubbing up and down Christian’s leg as he thought, and none of the handlers quite dared to say anything right then to cajole the man into speaking. Eventually though he sighed and then he hummed a little before nodding his head, “We can arrange an event, a press-conference maybe,” he knew that they would probably have to fall-back on a ball the way they always did, but option one was cheaper.

“So you’re OK with it?” Cody asked, his surprise shown in both John and Wade’s faces although Chris was still as blank and absent as though his mind wasn’t there at all. It was a good job Alberto wasn’t the way he normally was otherwise he would be clocking onto that immediately and berating Chris for it. “Well, it would have to happen eventually,” Alberto murmured, thinking to himself somewhat given the tone of voice and slow measurement of his words, “I would just rather it had happened on our terms and not those of the circumstances forced by others.” Putting the boys before the public per se was not acceptable though in the sense that there was a chance that their loved-ones might see them and cause an issue with… innumerable problems. They would need some way of proof though.

Kind of, anyway, because hopefully Wade could swing the patent and then they would have their big unveiling of a genuine case in the future. There was the possibility of using Mike, but given how he had been injured… Alberto didn’t want to do or say anything that would tip off his opponents since it was clear from their actions and reports that they had no idea clearly what was happening and were banking on scoring somehow if they just kept shooting. Besides, Alex would probably put his foot down about using Mike as some sort of show piece, and since he was a top-class instructor he didn’t want to do anything to upset him per se. Christian started to talk PR and John wouldn’t deny that his mind had wandered slightly during because he had never been exactly involved in publicity before.

The handlers and their sponsor spoke for an hour or so longer, and then they finally called it a night. Christian said that his team would take care of everything and when they had finalised some plans they would talk to them and see what they thought. At the end of the day whether the boys were unveiled with the patent or not people would begin snooping and then they would soon find things out even if they never found out who their boys were. The handlers were quiet as they drove back, murmuring absent-minded goodbyes to one another as they split up to their respective apartments. Each one consumed by thoughts as to what was going to happen once it was revealed what Wade had been working on… the price was going to be increasing on the man’s head big time at minimum.

~:~

“This is a joke, right?” Layfield slammed his hands down on Lauriniatis's desk, hard, making the older man flinch. “This has got to be a fucking joke. You didn't authorise another attack?! Did you think it would deflect attention from yourself somehow? It's been all over the fucking news! And you can bet that someone'll be able to make your boy. There's security cameras everywhere these days and he's not exactly inconspicuous with all that goddamned hippy hair!”

“I think hippy's actually don't dye--”

“I don't give a fuck!” Layfield swept a hand across the desk knocking everything to the floor, computer monitor, stationary and photographs becoming so much clutter on the hundred-dollar-a-square-inch carpet. “You're living in a dream world if you think that no one will have seen him and noticed that he's gone in there with something he hasn't come out with. And he leads right back to you. Dammit, I'm so tempted to just put you out of my misery right now! Remind me why the fuck I got involved with this?”

“To protect yourself,” Lauriniatis reminded him quietly. “You invested heavily in the less legal side of things and now you're in trouble if my corporation goes to shit. I go bust, you're exposed. Remember that. And remember that if anything happens to me, you're exposed anyway. You wanna stop trashing my office and help me with some damage control?”

Layfield was shaking with rage. “You don't tell me what to do, you little turd. I'll put you down right now if I wanna and I'll get away with it. I'll say you deceived me, lied to me. You misinformed me and when I found out that our brave boys were being blown to shit by your side op, the one I unwittingly got involved in, I lost my temper and shot you right in the face. And no one would know any different.”

“I'd know.”

Both men turned to look at the man in the doorway, who had somehow managed to enter without them even realising. It occurred to Lauriniatis that it was some kind of gift to be able to do that and had probably helped Jeff in his crazy little schemes.

“You shut the hell up, boy,” snarled Layfield. “Your screwing up got us in this mess in the firt place!”

“The bomb worked the way it was supposed to,” said Jeff mildly. “The problem is that they're indiscriminate. And wasn't it your hitman – hitwoman, ha – who got her fool self killed when she was supposed to carry out a simple assassination? I wouldn't have fucked up that way. Now, you want to settle this before it gets even more out of hand?”

Layfield stared a moment, his eyes narrowed. “Go on boy, tell me what genius idea you've had this time. Maybe you're gonna blow up another subway station?”

“I think I did all I could in the medium of underground art,” said Jeff and chuckled to himself, although Layfield didn't see the joke. “I take it your target's changed?”

“Not necessarily,” said Layfield reluctantly. “With the boy-toy out of the way, Del Rio'll likely fold like a house of cards. But it won't change anything. Whatever this big breakthrough he has is, we have to find a way to either take it from him or make sure that there's no way that it can be exposed to the public.”

Jeff raised an eyebrow. “Smear campaign?” 

“No,” said Lauriniatis. “It's too late for that kind of thing. And we don't even know what it is that we're smearing. That's a last resort.”

“And you have no one on the inside?”

“We have people on the inside but not close enough to Del Rio to know just what's going on.” Lauriniatis sighed. “No, that won't work. We need to close him down.”

“Then we need to blow the entire building to kingdom come...” Jeff noticed the look on the other men's faces. “Not an option?”

“No more blowing things up,” said Lauriniatis firmly. “Besides, we hit them again, they'll know it's personal.”

“Hmmm.” Jeff considered for a moment. “You don't know what it is you're trying to stop, or who's involved in it. Make things easy for me, why don't you.”

“Wait.” Lauriniatis held up a hand, indicating for silence. “When the building was supposed to be empty, that guy Barrett kept on going in, him and a couple of lackeys. I can just check my notes...” He took a step toward the desk and then looked helplessly at the shattered monitor on the floor. “Oh. Looks like we can't.”

“Let me get the one from your secretary's office,” said Jeff, sounding a little bored. Lauriniatis didn't know if it was something to do with the younger generation or what, but Jeff had it hooked up surprisingly quickly and then booted the computer. Lauriniatis gave him a quick nod, then went into his top secret files, pulling up the information he'd gotten from the man he'd had watching the building.

“Bryan and Kim,” he said after a moment. “According to what I have though, they're not even in military. They're doctors. They were recently on some mission out in the field where there's a lot of activity and Del Rio took heavy losses there, but I understand it's to do with minimising those losses. Doctoring in other words.”

“It makes no sense, if they were protecting this big secret,” said Layfield snappishly.

“It's not that it makes no sense, it's just that we're looking at this the wrong way,” said Jeff patiently. “Obviously, they must have something going on that involves people with their expertise. What could that be?”

“Germ warfare,” said Layfield immediately.

“That's not their field,” said Lauriniatis irritably. “They're in medical research, but not in that field. Their resumes just say that they're into sports science, nutrition, muscular issues. Nothing about respiratory infections or internal organs at all really and that's what bio-weapons tend to focus on.” He shrugged. “I think Barrett's done something on that but Barrett's done something on everything. I offered him a job here, a long time ago, but he joined up with Del Rio, even though I offered a better deal. He said he'd rather work on a cure than a new way to make people sick.”

Layfield snorted. “Moron, money's not in the cure.”

“Guess he can't do too badly with Del Rio though,” said Lauriniatis sourly. “The point is, what the hell is a group like that working on some big breakthrough for?”

Jeff nimbly jumped onto the desk, crossing his legs and ignoring the dirty look that Lauriniatis shot him. “There's no money in medicine, you say,” he commented. “But maybe there's money in improvements. For example. No matter how good the weapons are, you need men to work them. Whatever the war, there's always soldiers on the ground. You can't just blow one another to bits from your own country because the weapons have gotten too good for that. And there's no guarantees from a distance. And there's nothing like the personal touch.”

“Whatever you say,” replied Lauriniatis uncomfortably, thinking about Jeff's 'personal touch' on recent events.

“So maybe he's come up with something that would make soldiers better. Maybe that's the breakthrough. That would require knowing about muscles, how to get more out of them, about toughening them up. I don't think they'd care too much about improving lung capacity and curing disease in that case.” He smirked. “Maybe Del Rio made him an offer he couldn't refuse, told him he'd pay him a thousand times more than you if he built the better soldier. And that would sink your military division more or less. A lot of your bombs are better, I find Del Rio's far too hard to get hold of, too much of a paper trail. But that won't mean that people won't use them if you're not around. It's not like there's no market at all. Face it, you're fucked.”

He grinned suddenly. “Unless you put a stop to it.”

Layfield scowled. “That's what we're trying to do, you fucking freak.”

“Ooh, you're nasty.” Jeff didn't seem too bothered though. “You failed to stop Del Rio and so maybe the only thing left is to make sure that the patent is available to you before he can get all the copyright issues on. That means you have to steal the work.”

“How?” demanded Layfield. “In case you didn't notice, it's probably been backed up a thousand times and there's security to think about – now the building got attacked once, there's gonna be all kinds of new shit in there that's hard to get through.”

“Leave it to me.” Jeff smiled to himself.

“No.” Lauriniatis shook his head. “You've already gone into business for yourself once and look how that turned out. You'd better let us in on whatever plan you're cooking up now. I don't need any more unpleasant surprises.”

“Fine.” Jeff rolled his eyes and looked over to Lauriniatis's computer, tapping a picture on the screen. “This is Barrett?”

“Yes.”

“Thought so. I was uh, lingering yesterday after I scared off that wannabe-cop and saw him and his crew. I heard on the news that they work for Del Rio. His bodyguard was pretty close to him, followed him around and once, I noticed that they were just a little more friendly than friends, if you know what I mean. I'll bet he's pretty in on what's going on in the building and can get in and about without much problem. They'd be used to him hanging around the labs and stuff. If we had Barrett, I'll bet his bodyguard would do just about anything to get him back.”

“You're saying we should grab Barrett and then use his boyfriend to get our info for us...” Layfield started to grin. “I like it. Clean. And if he's that worried about Barrett, even if he gets caught he won't open his mouth.”

“And that way you can choose, sabotage or theft, either-or.” Jeff cracked his knuckles loudly. “Whatever you think he's more likely to get away with. It's gonna be a lot of work but I think I can do it.”

“But what would we do with them after?” asked Lauriniatis worriedly. “They'd tell Del Rio as soon as Barrett was free!”

Jeff leaned over and patter Lauriniatis's cheek. “Oh Johnny. You've already got blood on your hands. What's wrong with a little more?”

“You're not getting into this for free though, are you?” Layfield's voice was blunt.

Jeff smiled rather dreamily. “No, not for free. I've met my muse. He's one of Barrett's friends and I want him.” He saw the looks of mild shock on the faces of the two men and chuckled. “Not in the biblical sense. As my model. He's so – I don't know. I can't get the look in his eyes without him in front of me. I want him as payment and I'll bet he can be got at the same time as Barrett. Or his bodyguard can lure him into a trap. He's mine.”

“And after?” asked Layfield.

“If he stops inspiring me, he can go the same way as Barrett.” Jeff shrugged. “That might take a long time. I want to paint him and then I want to paint him and there's so much potential there. It might take months.”

And it'll keep you out of my hair awhile, thought Lauriniatis gratefully. “Okay, done.”

Jeff grinned widely and got off the table. “Perfect. I might have to take a leave of absence since I intend on him being away from here. I don't want to be disturbed while I work.”

“Fine, fine,” agreed Lauriniatis. 

“In that case, I can arrange this.” Jeff winked. “Trust me.”

~:~ 

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Laurinitus mumbled to himself as Jeff left the room, all but bouncing as he walked along, as cheerful as a child facing the prospect of a profitable Christmas morning. JBL gave Laurinitus a look that suggested he was getting no sympathy from him and neither was he getting away with what they had been discussing before Jeff had walked in. “I told you he was too unbalanced,” the Texan-native reminded without any sort of qualm about rubbing salt into the wound even though god forbid you try anything like that back to him. “He’s effective,” Laurinitus protested weakly and he grimaced as he considered that JBL was likely to start ripping into him viciously for not having the conviction to make his own decisions seem plausible and backed-up to other people.

Although for once it seemed as though the man was distracted because he didn’t so much as flinch at Laurinitus’ comment, his brow furrowed as though he was thinking about something that required a lot of brain power. Not to say that the other was stupid because that wasn’t the truth at all; he was clever but more to the point he was cunning, and he was so devious that had he been born in another lifetime Laurinitus had no doubt he would have been in a profession like an inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition or another post that would afford him enough power to exploit and weak game to abuse to fill himself with satisfaction. The part of his mind that should have pointed out that he had similarly egotistical tendencies was silent for once--- most likely remembering the last argument.

“If he pulls this off,” the other man finally said and Laurinitus relaxed his posture just slightly, wearily since he didn’t trust JBL’s moods as far as he could throw the man… which probably wouldn’t be very far considering they were of equal build essentially. “If he pulls this off?” he prompted when the other fell silent for too extended a period of time to be considered normal for someone who wasn’t suffering with a forgetful memory. “Then we could put ourselves right at the top of the game. Everything would just fall into place for us, we could have all of the pieces and nowhere near as much hassle as we’ve been puttin’ up with lately…” he fell quiet again, though when he next opened his mouth the hopefulness that had been building in Laurinitus’ chest died totally almost immediately.

“But if he fails then all our heads will certainly be on a platter,” his smile became vicious, the other man pretty much bearing his teeth as opposed to smiling at him, “And if I go down I can promise I’m going to take you and your entire corporation down with me to break my fall, remember that Johnny.” Given the fact that JBL knew he was as spineless as a snake and as slippery, JBL wasn’t taking any chances in not reminding Johnny about how things would go down should the other try to sell him up the river to save himself. Laurinitus paled almost to the degree where he looked grey and JBL smirked and pressed down on the intercom button, “Vickie,” he said smoothly as Laurinitus continued to sit there in petrified silence, “Be a darlin’ and go and get Johnny boy and I some lunch would you?” 

~::~

“I’ve got a bad feeling,” John murmured to Randy as he glanced over the provisional itinerary that had been delivered for the upcoming unveiling party that following week. It may have seemed a bit much but they all had to know what to expect; the boys had been granted permission to go as guests even if their true relation to the project hoping to receive patent remained a secret. He didn’t know what it was but the sensation had been building in his gut and trailing clammy fingers up and down his spine for about an hour now. Randy looked up from the motorbike magazine he had been flicking through with an expression that was clearly one of apparent unconcern for the moment but John could see the way his eyes had darkened a fraction and knew that he had his full attention.

“About what?” Randy inquired although he felt redundant even as he asked it: they were all edgy about the party, and recently small tensions had been making themselves known with them all in a way that didn’t indicate a fall-out or awkwardness but the atmosphere was there and it was impossible to just shake it off. Randy had noticed Chris’ looks to Evan recently, and Evan’s small looks to him, and momentarily Randy felt a little unnerved that John had figured something out in conjunction with that that was going to affect the relationship he currently had. The way he felt about John he was pretty sure he’d never had before and at the risk of sounding co-dependent and needy he didn’t want to do anything to jeopardise that if possible. Setting the magazine down he moved across to John.

Sitting down besides the elder man Randy then pulled John so he was straddling his lap, making John’s cheeks pinken just a little and Randy grinned at the sight of it; he never failed to enjoy the way he made John feel, especially in light on interesting whispered conversations he’d picked overtime from gossipy men and women alike that people had been attempting to gain John’s favour since he had started working for Alberto and no one seemed to succeed, and only one or two had managed to coax what turned out into more of a mate-date than a romantic one out of him… something that amused Randy greatly. “Talk to me,” Randy couldn’t help that it came out somewhat like an order and John apparently didn’t mind, sighing gently as Randy’s hand started to massage the back of his neck.

“I’m probably just being paranoid,” John conceded after a moment’s thought to assemble his thoughts, “Especially since it’s pretty clear that Alberto won’t be letting so much as a mouse in the building without his say-so when it comes to this party… but I can’t help but feel that something’s going to go down and—“he cut off abruptly and his lips pinched together in a way that Randy knew now as John’s was of expressing a thought or feeling he was uncomfortable with for whatever reason. Brushing his lips over John’s Randy coaxed, “Tell me,” because he wanted to know what John had come up with as well as offer appropriate comfort. Naked comfort if it came down to it. Oh Randy hoped it was a concern that was worthy enough of naked comfort… it was his favourite kind to use on John overall.

The look in John’s eyes destroyed all of Randy’s playful thoughts though and he immediately got serious as he wrapped both his arms around John’s middle and waited patiently but with growing unease. “I have the feeling that something’s going to go down,” John repeated and then ground out, “And that we’re gonna be helpless to do anything,” and that was the bit that bothered John when you got down to it. Dealing with potentially dangerous issues didn’t bother him but being considered helpless was. No one liked it but John had been slave to his ego’s fear of being found helpless again after what had happened to his arm… Randy’s lips brought John’s mind back to the present and for the moment the brunette pushed the thoughts aside and accepted the comfort being offered to him.


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Remember, Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan finally confesses to Chris about his remembered past, and Chris takes it upon himself to tell John.

“Wade, come on, take a break,” Justin pleaded. Since his lover had told him about the patent unveiling he had almost retreated back to the way he had been when Justin had first arrived on the scene and they hadn’t really spoken with one another unless they had to. Not because they had disliked one another or anything, but because neither had had any clue what to say at the time that wouldn’t offend the other or seem ridiculous. Justin still had moments like that now, most usually when confronted with the depth of Wade’s intelligence. He was by no means stupid he knew but more often than not Wade lost him after the first five minutes when he started talking in technical terms. Of course Wade insisted that the most important bit was that Justin listened, but he didn’t feel the same.

He wished he could ask Wade interesting and complicated questions because the man seemed to thrive under the challenge and attention even though he was pretty clear usually when he liked to be under the spotlight and when he didn’t. And, funnily enough, the breakthroughs in his work seemed to fall under the latter category which Justin had a huge respect for; most people would be cashing in on their fame as often as possible when every opportunity arose but not Wade. However, the other was currently burning the candle at both ends and Justin was concerned both for Wade’s wellbeing… and his own, selfishly. Last night Wade had come to bed after him and was up before him, leaving Justin feeling oddly bereft, and since their first real night together Wade had yet to touch him again.

It had occurred to Justin that he was being selfish and that logically he and Wade couldn’t be together like that every night but it wasn’t even really so much the sex itself as opposed to the affection. For all Wade wasn’t exactly demonstrative with his feelings he never failed usually to make Justin feel on top of the world with a kiss or embrace, or even when he merely confided in him how he hadn’t thought he would ever come so far or have done so much with his work… and those admittances were quite frequent and quite an insight to the intelligent and oft stoic man. Justin just missed feeling needed by Wade, and he was sure in his position any of the others would feel the same. Just as Justin opened his mouth to speak again he suddenly stilled almost statue-like.

That grabbed Wade’s attention almost insultingly quickly since he’d barely batted an eyelash when Justin had been speaking but right then the unit was trying to focus on what he had thought he’d heard. He didn’t make a habit of eavesdropping on the neighbours (actually, he and Wade had both invested in headphones and a double-headphone-jack for their personal music devices when Justin indicated that they would be hearing things they shouldn’t be) but this time the sound had caught his attention because of how out of place it seemed. “Justin?” Wade murmured, expression serious, “What is it?” Justin held up a hand slightly, brow furrowed, and then moved his other hand and cupped around his ear before angling his hand downwards. The sound cleared up a little and he gasped.

Evan and Chris were arguing. And since the sound was muffled they were obviously trying to be quiet… but there was no mistaking the tones being used. Evan was both defensive and seemed seconds away from begging and Chris was apparently not giving an inch. Wade was watching Justin as he moved his hand again and it reminded him of someone attempting to adjust an antenna for a better signal. He’d never seen any of the units do this before and the scientist in him was fascinated before Wade pushed him down momentarily. “What is it--?” he repeated, but then a sudden burst of muffled shouting even reached his un-advanced ears. This time Justin wasn’t the only one feeling confused for even Wade couldn’t answer why Chris and Evan would be arguing about Randy at all.

~:~

Chris had long since had enough of Evan's strange moods and behaviour. There was clearly something bugging his young lover and yet whenever he asked about it, Evan simply brushed it off, changed the subject, found a reason to leave the room. Either Evan had a bladder issue or he was using it as an excuse to not discuss... whatever it was. And Chris didn't like it one bit.

The moment that Evan got back from yet another bathroom break, Chris gave in to his irritation and as Evan sat, he got up and stood in the doorway leading out of the living room. Evan was not going to find an excuse to leave again. “What's going on with you Evvy?”

Evan hesitated a little just before he replied, “Nothing.” It was barely noticeable but it was there and it gave away the lie. The units weren't supposed to be able to lie to their handlers, were they...? Or had he just assumed? There had been no overt mental restrictions put on them he supposed, aside from what they'd had from the virus that had been such a fun part of Lauriniatis's illegally sold bomb, so he supposed it was entirely possible. Evan though was not the kind of man to whom lying came naturally.

“Nothing” Chris's voice was flat. “You've been acting real strange just lately Ev. Real strange. You're jumping at shadows, you keep giving me guilty little looks when you think I'm not looking and I'm not the only one to notice. You're acting funny around Randy as well and he's noticed. It's only a matter of time before everyone sees it and you've got more people on your case about your behaviour than me.”

Evan winced. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to know. Not the handlers, not the other units, not John, not Randy, not Chris. Especially not Chris. 

“It's just been a stressful time,” he said slowly. “Really. I mean, two bombs, finding that kid in the train, worrying about whether or not someone's gonna come after Alberto or Christian or do anything else... it's just getting to me a bit is all.”

“Bullshit,” replied Chris, his voice starting to rise even though he had told himself that he wouldn't lose his temper. It was Evan's lies that were really getting to him, the lack of trust. Hadn't he proved that Evan could trust him? And his job was to help Evan adjust and he couldn't do it without Evan's co-operation. “There's something else going on with you and you're going to tell me what it is.”

“There's nothing going on!” Evan's eyes were wide and rather pleading but he didn't look as if he were pissed because of the way Chris was acting. He looked worried, trapped. It was an expression that Chris didn't much relish seeing. 

“There is,” Chris yelled back. Evan jumped and Chris reminded himself that he cared a whole lot for Evan and he didn't like the way the younger man acted a little like a whipped puppy just because he'd lost his rag – and in truth, had he been the type of man to get punchy with his partners, Evan could have taken his head off in a second had he even considered it. But his temper had often been like a half-tamed horse, something he couldn't always control until after the damage was done and the anger had exhausted itself. He didn't want to get angry, he told himself again. There was no point to it and in any case, if he found out what was bothering Evan then being pissed wasn't going to help him get to a resolution. 

“You'd better tell me what's happening with you,” he said in a barely-controlled but much quieter voice. Quiet or not, it cut through the room like a knife.

Evan glanced around himself as if looking for a way out of the situation but with Chris between him and a piss-break, there wasn't much choice. “Nothing,” he said defensively. “It doesn't matter. I can deal with it myself.”

“I could order you to tell me,” snapped Chris and knew he'd just crossed a line. Evan's face took on a shocked look, as if he'd just been slapped and Chris sought to do damage control. “Not that I would,” he added. “I've got more respect for you than that and I thought you had more trust in me than to bullshit me with bullshit answers and bullshit nothing all the time. Regardless of what's happened since we've been here, I was put here to do a job and you're showing that I'm not up to it because you can't even let me know what's bugging you!”

“There's nothing--” Evan broke off, knowing that he wasn't getting away with that. “I don't want to talk about it. I know that you guys call us units and that we're not real people to anyone else but I feel real and real people get to keep whatever issues they have to themselves if they damn well want.”

Chris narrowed his eyes slightly, a war going on in his head. The side of his mind that was usually in charge thought it might be a good idea to address what Evan had just said – did all four of them feel that way, that they were treated as somehow less than human just because officially they had died? It was almost heartbreaking to think that he might have added to that without even realising. But he had been getting too frustrated for too long and was determined not to be sidetracked.

“You are real,” he said and then dismissed the topic to think about some other time. “And whatever the hell it is, you're doing a bad job of dealing with it on your own! Clearly you can't!”

“I'll be just fine,” Evan shot back. “I need time, not, not a telling off for being a bad little unit!”

Chris winced himself, just as Evan had when he'd mentioned that he could order Evan about. He supposed he deserved it after that but he didn't like it even slightly. And the anger only grew with the implication made. But he recognised the defensive move for what it was and knew exactly how to sidestep it – people had commented before that arguing with Chris was hard work because he could hit you where you didn't see it coming. 

“Have you got a hot nut for Randy?”

Evan's eyes widened and he actually paled slightly. Chris felt a hot spike of jealous anger going through him. Randy was younger, had been through the same things and he had all those goddamned tattoos, he could see the attraction. But Randy was with John for one thing. And it had been Evan who had shown how he felt about Chris, subtly then less so, had pulled Chris into his orbit and seduced him and now he was considering trading him in for a model with fewer miles on the clock? 

That hurt. More than he wanted to admit even to himself.

He raised his hands in a surrender gesture to forestall Evan from speaking, not that he was sure the younger man had any idea of what he was going to say. “Hey, I don't have any kinda claim on your personal life, although I thought things were going well between us and I wish you'd decided against screwing me before screwing me. Whatever. You want Randy instead then good goddamned luck--”

“I don't want Randy!” said Evan, just shy of yelling, standing up with his fists clenched, not that Chris thought for a moment he'd use them. “I don't and I want to be with you, can't you just let me have this—”

“You're not acting much like you want to be with me, mooning over him all the time--”

“It's not like that!”

“That's what it looks like from this angle--”

“I REMEMBER!”

Evan's yell managed to silence Chris long enough for him to actually hear what was being said and for a second he looked like he might go back to throwing around accusations and hurt. But there was something about Evan's desperate statement that gave him pause.

Evan continued, far more quietly now, his words coming out in an unstoppable torrent now that he had actually admitted what Adam would probably have been very interested to know. “Not everything, not even much. Nothing important. But it freaked me out and I don't want to freak you out as well--”

“What? What did you remember?”

Evan looked at the carpet, his lips pressed in a tight line, shaking his head. “The night before the bomb went off. What I was thinking about. Some name of some guy, I think one of the ones who didn't make it and I didn't put a face to it...” He trailed off and sighed.

Chris simply watched him patiently, knowing that wasn't the end of the story and in the end Evan shrugged his shoulders almost angrily. “I was thinking about Randy mostly though, at the time. Because there was something going on between us and we'd snuck off while I was supposed to be on watch so we could be together a while. Again. I was thinking about how we weren't supposed to sneak off but we were supposed to be in a safe zone and if we were quiet...” He sighed and continued, his voice getting quieter. “I suppose I was wrong about how safe it was 'cause I'm almost a hundred per cent sure that was the night before we got attacked.”

He risked looking up at Chris and felt his heart sink. Chris looked like he'd been slapped, as if someone had told him that there had been a death. He looked as if his whole world had fallen apart in seconds. 

“Chris?”

“You and Randy,” said Chris faintly. “You were together before and you forgot?”

“I forgot everything, we all did!”

“You were...” Chris shook his head, seeming at a loss. “Does he know?”

“No. He doesn't remember. I wish I didn't remember! I never wanted anything like this to come out, I didn't want to know anything about anyone I might have been with before I met you – it doesn't seem all that important.”

Chris moved to the couch Evan wasn't stood before and sat down heavily, massaging his forehead. “Oh god,” he groaned. “You were with him first, he's not the guy in the middle, I am.”

“No! You're not the guy in the middle, you're the man I want, not Randy. It never occurred to me that there might have been anything going on between us, not once, whenever you're in the room I don't see anyone except you...” Evan moved over to Chris, kneeling on the floor in front of him and trying to look him in the eyes. “This isn't something that should matter.”

“But it's affecting you,” Chris pointed out. “You're uncomfortable around him and me ever since you worked it out...” He gave a sudden, unamused laugh. “That's why you came to me in the middle of the night, isn't it? Because you remembered. Because you were freaked out.”

Evan gave a single nod. “But you don't understand. I knew as soon as it came back to me that he wasn't the person I wanted to be with. You were. That's why I came to your room, because I felt – I dunno, like the worst person in the world, like I was cheating and while I was cheating I was putting people in danger and at the same time I was fucking John's life up as well as everyone else's. I told you, I wish I didn't remember anything. I was happier without knowing.”

“There was no mention of this in the files,” said Chris, still trying to rid himself of the sudden tension headache that had struck since the revelation had been made.

“There wouldn't be. No one knew, we were hiding it from everyone. I think because we wouldn't have been able to work together if people found out, we were hiding it from the rest of the platoon for sure. I remember thinking that there was some guy who'd more than likely freak out because he was raised in that whole gays-are-sinners way and I don't know if he gave any indication he'd disapprove or rat us out... DiBiase, I think he must have died the next...”

Chris's head shot up and he stared at Evan through wide eyes. Evan felt suddenly nervous. “What? What did I say?”

“Nothing.” Chris shook his head to indicate it didn't matter, irritating Evan slightly. It was okay for Chris to brush aside concerns but not him? Not on. But he didn't quite dare to say it, cause another argument over nothing at all. They had enough to deal with right then – but the odd reaction was filed away for later consideration. 

“I can't believe this.” Chris sounded almost defeated. “You're in a relationship with a guy and when you remember, I'm in the damned way, me and John.”

“I don't think we were in a relationship, I think it was more a friends-with-benefits situation,” replied Evan, suddenly a little afraid. Was Chris talking about stepping aside so that he and Randy could be together? That wasn't what he wanted at all and he was pretty sure that wasn't what Randy wanted either. He rested his arms on Chris's knees, determined that he was going to make Chris understand that whatever had happened with him and Randy was in the past, it would make no difference if he remembered every moment. Randy wasn't the man he wanted. Chris was. 

“Baby,” he said softly. “It's a weird situation, I know. The reason I've been a bit freaked around Randy is – well, you won't know what it's like to have been with someone and they don't even remember. It's really strange. And I didn't want you to find out, not ever, because I don't want Randy and it doesn't matter if I fucked him once or a hundred times, or anyone else for that matter. I can tell you now that from what I remember, it's better with you. Because it's you. And I've had no feelings for Randy at all, I don't know why I even remembered that in particular, maybe because it's so soon before we were injured. I saw him when we were in the hospital and there was nothing, no attraction, no connection. I think I thought not bad but Chris is better. Something like that. And he wasn't the one I remembered when I woke up.”

“No. That was Justin.” Chris gave Evan a rather thoughtful and yet weary look and Evan bit his lip. Damn, he hoped that Chris wasn't thinking about what he had been like before the bomb – or who else he might have been with. 

“This is...” Chris rubbed his forehead again. “This is something I never expected. I feel like...” He laughed humourlessly. “I feel like this is something I forced on you. Caught you at a vulnerable moment, took advantage of you having no memory to get you right under your boyfriend's nose--”

“Don't feel like that!” Evan reached up to stroke his hand over Chris's, still against his forehead. “You didn't take my memory or Randy's. And neither one of us was interested in the other one when we woke up. This isn't your fault, or mine. I don't want to apologise for what I did in the past when I don't even remember it but I will, if it makes you feel better. It's just something that happened and it makes no impact on our lives now. It's you and me now. He's just a friend we work with. And because no one knew, I suppose that they couldn't make allowances for it but it really wasn't anything serious between us. I'm sure of it. I found someone I loved and he did too and I'm sure that if we remembered, then we would both be comfortable and happy with that.”

He stopped for a moment and when he spoke again, his voice was timid. “Do you still love me?”

Chris sighed and gave a smile that looked rather more like a grimace. “Always will, it seems. But this is – I don't know how to even say. This is huge. Have you talked to Adam about it?”

“I didn't want him to know either.” Evan looked uneasy. “And not just because I wanted to hide it from everyone. If he found out and told Alberto, I might get into trouble.”

Chris wanted to reassure Evan that he couldn't get into trouble for having memories, but as hopeless and paranoid as he felt right then, he wasn't sure he wouldn't be lying. Instead he went back to massaging his temple and Evan frowned a little. He knew that Chris occasionally got stress headaches but he had dumped a whole lot of problems on his lovers lap. Dismally, he wondered if they would actually get over this. Realistically he knew that everyone had a past, remembered or not, and it would be petty to ditch him because of who he'd slept with – but he also knew that people couldn't always control their feelings, regardless of common sense. 

“Can I get you some painkillers?” he asked and then, because he wanted more than anything to make the atmosphere between them more as if had been before his cursed memory had come back, added, “And maybe give you a head massage to get rid of your headache?”

Chris glanced at him and to Evan, he seemed a little red-eyed. “Sure. And a glass of water would be good. I'm not chewing them like that fucking animal Cody.”

Evan managed a ghost of a smile at the comment and headed for the kitchen, leaving Chris to sag back against the couch with a sigh. He had no idea how to respond to this, what to do, none at all. But he was smart enough to realise that he was going to have to mention the memories returning just in case it happened to someone else. He was going to have to speak to John for sure and that wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to. Just thinking about it made his head throb even more. Debating if he should mention to Cody about what Evan had thought of Ted's sensibilities was another decision he could do without (and he was leaning toward keeping it a secret anyway, for all kinds of reasons). And did it mean anything that Evan had remembered Justin (his name at least) rather than Randy? Or was it just some weird quirk? 

So many problems and he didn't see any solutions on the horizon any time soon.

~:~

The song’s lyrics were pretty lewd, almost to the point where his ears were burning, but the way Cody was dancing to the music was enough to wipe his mind of the dirty lyrics and focus it solely on Cody’s movements… which admittedly weren’t that clean in truth. The jeans he wore were looser than Cody was prone to wearing when they went out but to Ted they were just as amazing as his tightest skinny-jeans; especially when he bent just so and the loose material tautened fleetingly, teasing him. The other man clearly hadn’t noticed him and Ted was loathe to interrupt the moment when he expected that Cody had intended it to be private, considering he had waited until Ted had had his session with Dr Adam to do it. Ted bit his lip, fighting a smile and laughter at the sight before him.

It seemed he had been staring one minute too many though because Cody suddenly twisted in a way that had him glancing over his shoulder and he lost step so abruptly that he started to fall. Seconds before Cody’s fall could have been an issue Ted was there to steady him with a sheepish and apologetic look on his face. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your little… dance-off,” he grinned slightly and Cody’s already pinkish cheeks bloomed a darker shade, coyly ducking his head down. “I was just suddenly in the mood for it,” the ravenette confessed and Ted cocked his head curiously. For all people seemed concerned with getting them out and about often for a change of scenery their handlers really weren’t all that freer in their own right; they went wherever their units went mostly.

“Do you like clubbing?” Ted asked. Somehow that didn’t surprise him, although he had the distinct feeling that he himself had never been overly big on the club scene. Still, if Cody liked it then he was sure one time at least he could probably put himself through it… and what was it that spurred him to be so unimpressed with the concept of clubbing? Surely the representations they had on the ‘reality shows’ weren’t a reliable source as to what kind of things went on in them? “I don’t mind it,” Cody shrugged, “But it’s more having a dance and a little drink I like,” he didn’t need the big party-until-stupid-o’clock feeling anymore, not since he had started working for Alberto actually even though the wage he had received even then would have funded him many a comfortable weekend binge before. 

Cody then grinned brightly at Ted, using his hands to pull him forward, “Dance with me.” Ted’s eyes widened, looking around as though he expected numerous people to be there when obviously there was no one else there because it was their flat. “I can’t dance,” Ted blustered, cheeks feeling suspiciously warm. A disbelieving look crossed Cody’s face momentarily, “You can break into a building by scaling the wall with little more than a rope but you can’t get jiggy with it?” Ted started to laugh and then stopped, looking completely and utterly bemused, “I can’t do what?” he asked and Cody grinned, hands sliding around Ted’s neck and using one of his legs to wrap around Ted’s enough briefly to draw the blonde in closer, “You know, get down with your bad self and bust a move.”

An amused look crossed Ted’s face as the blonde found himself being coaxed into the moving with the song playing with an equally provocative and brightly coloured video on their large TV, “They may have imprinted me with about fifteen languages but I’m pretty sure I have no idea what you’re actually saying to me right now,” he teased. At least, Cody thought he was teasing him. Despite his movements initially being awkward Ted was soon moving his hips like Cody’s as his hands spread over the younger man’s back in an intimate and familiar gesture, and Ted certainly got a kick out of Cody’s reaction when he boldly (for him) let his hands slide down to Cody’s jeaned posterior and slip his hands into the man’s empty back pockets. It was fun to be able to catch Cody off-guard so intimately.

“Doesn’t matter,” Cody shrugged casually and brushed their lips together briefly as he smiled, “What matters to me is the fact that you’re here, your attention’s on me, and you’re dancing with me. I’d be the envy of any silly club twink if I ever turned up with you on my arm. And the envy of most of the women too,” he added as an afterthought, fighting a wan smile when Ted predictably, and honestly, refuted that he would gain that much attention from other people. Even though Cody complimented him all of the time how attractive he was and how he felt about him Ted never seemed to gain much more sense of self-worth. For all he lacked self-esteem he wasn’t one of those annoying people whose faces you wanted to smash in because they were continually fishing for compliments and attention.

“Who else would I have my eyes on?” Ted asked suddenly and Cody had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from naming any one of his fellow units; they were all attractive men in their own rights even though none of them had ever registered in his awareness the way Ted had. “Dunno,” he instead forced himself to say, failing to smother a wicked grin that curled his lips as he rocked his hips into Ted’s and felt that the other man was growing hard. Who would have thought that seeing Cody doing a dorky-dance by himself in the living-room to stupid club-music would make the other react like that? “You may see someone else who interests you when we’re out owning the dance-floor sometime. So I may get jealous and be all over you, just to give you fair warning on that score.”

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, “I like it when you’re all over me,” and seemed to hang in the small space that really separated their faces. Cody’s eyes widened in surprise and then he grinned, leaning in and nibbling Ted’s bottom-lip. “Well, if that’s the case,” he mused, a hand moving down from Ted’s neck to rest over when his heart was beating, strong and sure but a little quicker than usual, “I think we can do something about that. What do you say?” he winked. The pair tumbled into the bedroom together, completely unaware of the massive verbal bombshell that Evan had just dropped on Chris, and the devastating effects that it could have on them as much as one other couple in the building, unaware how much their happiness could be hanging in the balance.

~:~

“I didn’t think this would ever happen to me,” John admitted absently as he looked across to where Chris was sitting, the man cradling a mug in his hands, “I mean, I’ve been asked for a lot of things before… but relationship advice isn’t one of them,” he frowned softly, concerned. Chris was always such a stand-up and confident guy but right then he was looking as though the weight of the world rested on his shoulders… and though Chris could rock the laugh-line look he was starting to look worn as opposed to maturely sexy--- and those had been Evan’s words by the way, not his, although John couldn’t take away the fact that Chris was aging well, especially when you took into account how wild he had been back in his youth. “Trust me, if I could solve this myself I wouldn’t have asked.”

“Ouch,” John said absently, glancing over to where Randy was landing a few punches on a punch-bag as Evan stretched across the room, Justin sparring with Alex as Ted seemed to be talking to Mike and executing perfect push-ups without any hesitation or break in rhythm. No one was shocked to see Mike in their training anymore and he had taken to joining in on occasion, though not with anything too combat related. And they had all agreed that that was most likely because Alex had put his foot down for once and Mike had actually heeded him as opposed to Mike not wanting to learn. “I didn’t mean it like that,” Chris sighed, raking a hand through his highlighted blonde hair, the mussed style gaining what John supposed most modern-day style divs would say an ‘edgy’ effect or something.

“I was just teasing you man,” John held his hands up in surrender and leant back in his chair, “So,” he lowered his voice and glanced across to where Evan was now holding himself up in a perfect handstand--- before wobbling so badly he needed to return himself to his feet sharply. Considering that Evan never wavered, just like the others, the small movement spoke volumes and John felt himself feeling an almost brotherly concern for both men; something was clearly wrong and the fact that one at least felt the need to bring in a third party’s advice showed how desperate they were to fix things. “I can’t promise I’ll be able to tell you the best thing to do,” the brunette confessed as he rubbed the back of his neck, “But I’ll sure do my best and I won’t take offence if you disregard everything I say.”

After all there was a good chance that he just needed someone to act as a sounding-board for him as opposed to obtaining any active advice. “I appreciate it,” Chris said, and then glanced at Evan. At the wrong moment it seemed because Evan looked right back at him, and he quirked such a tentative, sad smile that Chris felt as though he had been sucker-punched in the gut. Again. The same feeling hit him every time he thought about the fact that Evan and Randy had been intimate with one another… It killed him to know that Randy knew Evan the way he did, possibly better given that guilt and fear hadn’t driven him when he had been with the other man. And on top of that upset he felt almost aghast at the fact that Randy could forget being with Evan. Chris knew he’d never forget it.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he said abruptly, standing up. John startled a little and glanced across to where Wade and Cody were sitting, pouring over something. John had no idea what had both men’s attentions so fervently but he felt loathe to interrupt them since they seemed to be almost bonding for a change. “We’ll be back. You alright to hold down the fort for a bit?” John asked as Chris was already heading out of the door. Cody looked non-plussed but Wade looked almost unnervingly unsurprised, “Sure, go ahead. They won’t be finished for a bit yet,” Wade nodded as Cody piped up, “Can you bring me back something from the vending machine? Please.” He repeated almost desperately and John grinned; Cody was almost like a woman when it came to his chocolate needs.

Sending Randy a small gesture of reassurance as the man looked up, expression immediately inquiring as to what was happening, John couldn’t help but notice that Evan looked peaky and grey, ill almost. John just barely managed to hold back from calling to Randy to sit the other down and watch over him because he felt that Evan wouldn’t appreciate being placed into the limelight over such an event. Heading out after Chris John had to lengthen his stride to catch up with the blonde man who was already at a fire-exit and starting down the stairs. Chris’ jacket collar was pulled up high around his neck and had the moment not been so odd John would have told Chris that he looked like a really bad stand-in for a low-budget spy movie. The weather was oddly gloomy that day so he had cause.

“Are you and Evan not getting on anymore?” he asked and Chris snorted softly. John wondered momentarily what he had said that was so funny before he realised that Chris wasn’t laughing at all. Actually, looking at him, he seemed a little red-eyed, as though he hadn’t slept well the night before. Momentarily John considered crying but Chris definitely didn’t strike him as the kind to do that, and even if he was he certainly wouldn’t do it over an insignificant or minor venture. “I wouldn’t say that…” Chris murmured and John’s brow furrowed; if something was up with Evan, or Chris, surely they would be better off talking to Dr Adam for advice? Or even Wade considering he was the one with the know-how for medical ventures? But, he was the one Chris had come to and he wanted to help him.

Chris stopped by a low wall and leant on it, looking out over the empty grounds of the building they were in. It was weird not to see people wandering around since this was a work environment and usually at work you find yourself having to travel from one point to another, even if it was only briefly, and no one seemed to do that around here anymore. The only people he saw were a few of the increased security personnel who had been brought in after the bombing’s damage had been repaired. “I’m gonna ask you something John, and already I know you’re gonna jump to conclusions about it whether you want to or not. And I’m not gonna be angry about it. Because I know the whole story, I think, and I’m still reaching all these conclusions myself…” he exhaled and braced himself.

“Do you love Randy?” Chris’ question almost caused John to choke on nothing and for several seconds the brunette found that he couldn’t make his voice work even though his motor reflexes were apparently working fine considering his jaw had dropped the second the question had registered. John could literally feel the blush working up his cheeks and he was tempted to make some sort of quip to lighten the moment… but seeing the look on Chris’ face he knew that that wouldn’t be appreciated. Ducking his head a moment he rubbed a hand nervously over the back of his neck before glancing back to Chris once more. “Honestly?” he asked, and when Chris nodded mutely he sighed and quirked a slightly shy smile, “To be honest I think I do. I’ve never felt even remotely like this for anyone else.”

And didn’t he know how that felt? Chris’ mind supplied almost bitterly, his heart agreeing that that was why this was hurting so much, why it was so uncomfortable and awkward right now. This feeling was horrible and he’d never wish it on anyone, but it was his duty in a way to let John know what was happening… just in case Randy remembered an incident from the past himself and took it upon himself to confess to John. Somehow Chris could bet that John would struggle with his conscience on the issue the same way he himself had, and yet he could bet that John’s good intentions would cloud his judgement and he’d probably end up making the situation worse without meaning to. “But, so what?” John laughed a little awkwardly and Chris realised the moment had been hanging a while.

“You love Evan right?” he asked and Chris sighed, leaning against the wall and resting his forehead on his forearms a moment before he straightened up. “I love Evan more than anything… and I know he’s hurting right now, but honestly I am too so I can’t do anything to make his hurt better… not when it’s the cause of my hurt, and he doesn’t think that I should be hurt…” to hear the usually eloquent (if slightly theatrical) man babbling away as he was John felt unaccountably uneasy. For a moment he was quiet, just going through what he had been told in his head and trying to decipher exactly what had been said. “Why are you hurt?” he asked him. Gingerly reaching out and patting Chris’ shoulder in a supportive gesture even though he wasn’t too sure if right then was the right moment to do it.

Chris didn’t respond immediately and for a few seconds John thought that the other hadn’t heard him at all. But then Chris turned and looked to face him, “John… have you ever thought about Randy’s past partners?” the blonde asked and John saw the tension beginning to build in his jaw that denoted this was painful for him, what he was saying… and a horrible feeling of clarity was starting to build for him as well. Swallowing thickly against the ball beginning to form in his throat John cleared said appendage and then exhaled an uncertain breathe; suddenly he felt like a child in school being asked a trick-question, unsure what answer to give because they’re concerned about the outcome. Giving a slightly awkward and sharp shrug John murmured, “I guess it’s crossed my mind once or twice, yeah.”

But there was no sense in asking because Randy didn’t remember anything, and life was just generally too short to be bogged down with things. “But what has that got to do with Evan? And you? What I think about Randy, or his past?” John asked, slightly more brusquely than he intended but in his defence this conversation suddenly seemed much more focused upon himself and his lover than the man before him and his. Chris looked down, “I didn’t want to tell you this. I wanted to pretend that I was never told it, bleach it from my mind or something…” he trailed off and then forced himself to get the words out, “Evan remembered something the other night,” and he could see almost immediately the realisation that was beginning to dawn over John’s face. But he didn’t think he got it.

“What did Evan remember that has to do with past lovers and Rand—“John’s voice died as suddenly as though someone had flipped a switch and Chris’ expression darkened further, some apology and guarded jealousy visible in his eyes but otherwise Chris’ mental barriers were pretty up. John’s eyes shot up to the window where the training was taking place, quite unable to believe what he had been told. If it was anyone else he would have considered it a joke in poor taste… but he knew Chris would never draw Evan into something like that if he had been in a pranking mood. “They… They were to-to—“John stammered and stuttered and Chris knew exactly how he felt. The image had been impossible at first but since the second he had successfully conjured it he couldn’t get rid of it, “Yes.”

~:~ 

John almost staggered at the news but managed to recover before he embarrassed himself. A part of him was suddenly very irritated with Chris – why couldn't he keep that news to himself? Why had he brought John into it, when he could quite happily live without ever knowing that Randy and Evan had been an item back in the day? But he already knew the answer to that one; if Evan had remembered then so could Randy, he had been the one to remember the most about himself when they had woken up and if Evan had gotten some memory then there was no reason for anyone else not to. Which didn't mean he still didn't wish it wasn't necessary.

“Randy said something once or twice,” he said slowly, only just remembering himself some of the comments that had roused his jealousy back in the days when he and Randy had been nothing more than colleagues of sorts. “About how Evan was cute and didn't I think so? I thought the whole time it was to get a reaction out of me but maybe he picked Evan instead of Ted or Justin for a reason.”

Chris's frown deepened. “I thought he didn't remember anything?”

“That's just it, I don't think he does. But Evan getting his memory back and then Randy making comments like that... and have you noticed the picture of the church that Ted bought for their apartment? Or that Evan mentioned Justin before they'd seen one another after the op? On some level at least, they remember.”

Chris sighed. “This could be bad John, this could be very bad. We thought it was best they didn't remember anything with them being, y'know, dead, less painful with the families they can't see and all, but if they do remember, what right do any of us have to deny them knowledge of their past?”

“Does Adam know?”

“Hell no. I had to practically force Evan to tell me. He really didn't want to share but he's been acting so off lately that I had to know what was up with him.”

“What did he say about Randy? Exactly?” John worried his lip a moment, looking down. “If they were together, then what did he have to say about any relationship?”

“That's something else that none of us know, him included. All he knows is that him and Randy were together the night before they were injured. He says he's almost sure they weren't involved more than y'know, friends with benefits, but he doesn't remember enough to say otherwise for certain. He says he remembers thinking that they were that and that they ought to be quiet in case somebody heard and disapproved.” He sighed loudly. “The name he mentioned was DiBiase...”

“Oh fuck.”

“Yeah. But he hasn't associated that name with Ted yet. He seems to think that DiBiase is dead.”

“Well, he is in a manner of speaking. Legally.” John spoke with no great conviction. “He thinks Ted would have been against it because they're fraternising or because they're men?”

“He didn't know. But there's a whiff of his background to it.”

“Fuck. Fuck. This could blow up horribly if Ted were to get back any memories.” John scrubbed his hand over the short bristles of his hair. “Evan and Randy were together and Ted was a homophobe? This is bad.”

“We don't know that Ted was anything of the kind, only that he was the one Evan thought wouldn't approve.” Chris sounded more patient than he felt. “He thought there were others as well. I'm just...” He shook his head. “I'm fucking stressed, y'know? Not just about the implications for me and Evan, or even you and Randy. Adam is gonna have a field day when he finds out about this and on top of that, it's probably better all around if no one remembers any of that stuff – but I don't think that I can stand by and allow it if Alberto decides we should do something to make sure they don't. It's not ethical.”

“Even if it's easier?”

“Especially if it's easier. I wouldn't be able to trust my own motives.”

John thought it over for a few minutes. “There's only the three of us that know right now, right? And there's no sign that anyone else is gonna get their memories back any time soon. It's been an age after all and apart from a few fuzzies from Evan that took place only a couple of hours before the bomb, there's no sign that any of them are going to. It probably doesn't hurt that no one's been helping them remember anything and they don't seem too interested in finding out for themselves... I always found that a bit odd to be honest.”

“Me too.” Chris raised his eyebrows. “I wouldn't be surprised if Adam's sessions are a little more than checking how they are though. Think about it. They're so incurious it's just weird and Evan's remembering that he was with Randy at all – well, I don't want to say that he over-reacted because in that case I probably did too. It was just... it was a shock. I kept on thinking that they were in some happy love-connection and then they'd get their memories back and I'd be just the guy who got between them...” He shook his head fiercely, as if to shake off the mild self-pity that had overcome him. “Anyway. Something like that, remembering something like that, it would come as a shock but it's really knocked him back. He's trying to act like nothing happened, but he's freaked out. He keeps on saying he wishes he didn't remember and that he doesn't want to know anything else. Makes me wonder if Adam put some kinda, I dunno, hypnotic suggestion or something in their minds to stop them from going looking for things to remind them.”

It sounded like a far-fetched theory to John and what was probably worse, it sounded perfectly plausible at the same time. “So, you're pretty sure that Evan doesn't want Randy back in his bed then?” He tried to make his tone sound light but it sounded more grim, as if he was silently adding over my dead body.

“He says he doesn't. He was really insistent that he didn't and he pointed out that if he and Randy really had something special that he wouldn't have seen the guy every day and not reacted – and that he wouldn't have reacted to me if he preferred Randy. And vice versa of course, with Randy and you. He doesn't actually seem at all bothered about the Randy part of things – wait, that's not quite what I mean. He's not too concerned about any past with Randy, he brushes it off pretty much. He's more concerned with Randy remembering and that he's fucking up the dynamics of the team. And he was freaking out that I'd find out about the past, or that you would. But mostly that Randy would, I think. And more than that, he mentioned that he was worried about Adam finding out. I'm almost sure that there's something more to that than the virus they're blaming the memory loss on.”

“But would Wade participate in removing their memories?” John tilted his head. “Come to think of it, could he? I mean, I know he knows brain surgery, he did that op on Josh's boyfriend. But is it possible to surgically remove memory?”

“Not that I've heard of, although I'm sure there's a lot of research into removing certain parts of the brain that cause epilepsy or schizophrenia or--” Chris stopped himself, it didn't matter from their point of view. “Maybe they legitimately lost their memories and any suggestion that it stays lost is just insurance.”

“It's just one thing and it's just Evan.” John considered it for a moment. “I'm not sure that we should share this with anyone actually.”

Chris stared at him. “Really? I would have thought you'd suggest Adam hears in case there's something he can do to at least ease Ev's mind a little.”

“You said he was freaked by the thought of Adam knowing.”

“Almost more than anyone else, except maybe me. And not for the same reasons.”

“Right. I don't think that Adam would really help, not the way we'd want him to. We'd want him to reassure Ev or something and yet he'd be more likely to stress out about it all, have Evan pulled from active duty, maybe even split the team. Assuming that you're not being paranoid and he wouldn't just do something to Evan's mind to help him forget all over again.”

“Do you think I'm being paranoid?”

“Oh yeah. But that doesn't mean it ain't possible.” John shrugged. “I've had a few thoughts like that myself, y'know? For the moment, there's just the three of us in the know. If we can get Ev over his fear about what would happen if he was found out, then we might have a better chance of this being an isolated incident. If you can reassure him that Randy doesn't have a clue and it hasn't even occurred  
to him, that's gonna ease his mind. You might wanna mention that Randy thinks Ev really doesn't like him very much all of a sudden and he's not sure why.”

“Really?”

“Really.” John smirked. “He thought it was from you helping Alex out with the training that time and Randy chucking you over his head. I told him he'd get over it and he knew how it was, which he does. If Ev manages to get over it, then there's no reason we can't put it down to that and forget about it. The chances are that no one else will remember a thing and we'll be able to put it behind us. If they can get back to acting naturally with one another again that's gonna be easier. So we work on Evan, or rather you do. I don't think he'll much like me knowing to be honest.” He paused. “Assuming you see Ev in the same way now that you know this.”

“To be honest? It's not Randy that's the issue for me here.” Chris shrugged. “I knew that Ev couldn't be a virgin or anything like that. He's pretty confident in – well, enough of that. I knew he had to have had partners and that it's Randy actually doesn't bother me even slightly.” He smirked a little and in a rare moment of forethought, decided not to mention what Evan had said about him being the better lover. “It was the circumstances that freaked me out, not the relationship. Evan's made some good points but it made me feel like – like, I dunno, like I was a part of some conspiracy to keep them apart and keep Ev for myself. It was a fucking shock to be honest John, I hadn't even suspected. But if Randy's not the issue the way that Evan says he isn't, then there's no reason that I can't find a way to keep this between the three of us.”

“Maybe even the two of you,” said John. “If he's worried about me knowing then you don't have to say that I do. You can simply say that you told me you were concerned about the chances of any residual memory coming back and drilled me about Randy's chances. It might not be a bad idea actually, to find out if there's anything returning. Without Adam knowing. They like him well enough I think but honestly? I'm not at all sure how much they trust him to know stuff. It's us they trust.”

“I might put it like that.” Chris smiled a little. “But they trust us, like you said, and we're keeping a lot of secrets from all of them. I don't know how I feel about another one.”

“Yeah. It's shitty.” John smiled back. “But we could think of it as practice.”

“Maybe.” Chris chuckled a little. “How about you? I mean, I didn't really want to dump this on you of all people but I didn't get much of a choice. If anything came back to Randy as well...”

“Yeah, I know, don't worry about it.” John considered. “I'm not delighted about it to be honest. And it puts things Randy's said in the past into a perspective I never really wanted. But I knew he wasn't a virgin, like you said. There's no point in being jealous of a past that he has that he doesn't even know that he has. And until very recently, there's been nothing but friendship there. And if further proof of any feelings Randy has about Ev were needed, he seems more confused than anything that Ev won't touch him. And if you needed further proof, Ev not wanting to touch him is probably a sign of his feelings about you.”

Chris wasn't sure about that but he was willing to go with it. “Right,” he said, clapping John on the shoulder. “Shall we get Cody's chocolate and back to the units, before he dies from lack of sugar?”

John simply looked at Chris for a moment. “Is there something else?”

“Something Ev said about how we think of them as units and not men.” Chris had almost forgotten the comments in the drama about Randy but suddenly they came back to him. “It's something I'll have to think about and we should probably discuss, but one thing at a time, okay? Let me deal with this first and then I'll get back to that.”

“Sure,” said John amicably, heading back to the building with Chris beside him. They remembered Cody's chocolate and found that the units were still training when they returned but were winding up the session – and John didn't miss the look of pure relief on Evan's face when it seemed that he and Chris were on good terms still and that John wasn't threatening him with death. And Chris himself seemed to have lightened up a little, which John called a good result.


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Unsuspecting VIP's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff gets his hands on the guest-list for Alberto's next party and Laurinaitus calls in the services of his mole to try and find out where Wade is hiding.

Jeff didn't go in much for celebrity gossip or the business pages, but he had been keeping an eye out and when there was a squib in the paper about Del Rio having a party upcoming (and touching on the unfortunate corpse that had turned up at the last party, although that part had been unnecessarily jokey since there was no indication that Alberto had been any acquaintance of the dead woman, let alone anything else) he checked out a more notable source. His eyebrows raised when his searches on the computer came up with some big announcement that Del Rio was planning to make at the party and there was much suggestion about what it was. Some seemed to think that it was an engagement party and Alberto was finally going to make his relationship with Christian legal, but Jeff didn't think so. The guest list was prestigious in the wrong way for it to be something like that for one thing. The people who had been confirmed by his admittedly limited source were politicians, rich businessmen and big names in both military and medical circles. No family mentioned, no celebrities to make the occasion feel glamorous. No, Jeff had the feeling that this was the announcement that Lauriniatis had been dreading, the one that might well bury their corporation for good. 

Tilting his head to one side, Jeff thought about it for a while, tapping his fingers against the table – it was only a matter of time after all until Lauriniatis got the news. Hell, he might even have been invited, since Del Rio would probably want to rub his face in the downfall of his company, not that Jeff blamed him one bit. But the unveiling of whatever it was would not happen until then, now it would be more closely guarded than ever. 

However, for an event of this scale, there would have to be some things that couldn't be played close to the chest.

Picking up the phone, Jeff dialled through to Lauriniatis's direct number and smirked when the man picked it up right away. And people had said he couldn't amount to anything in a corporate setting. “Hi Johnny,” he said brightly. “I need the guest list for the party Del Rio's having.”

From the reaction, it seemed that Lauriniatis hadn't heard and Jeff smirked. With some men, being the bearer of bad news was kinda fun. “Look, stop blustering and listen to me. You've got someone on the inside there and no matter how useless they were with the info we really needed, they have to have that guest list. I want it, asap. I'll need it if you want to make sure that the patent ends up with us.” He shrugged. “Or I could just crash the party myself. I'd make sure it went with a bang...”

The bad joke did exactly what he had hoped and Jeff chuckled. “Check your mail and then get me that list. Today Johnny. Just as soon as you've checked for your invite.” He hung up and leaned back, hands behind his head. He could get used to playing the important businessman.

The email he asked for came less than an hour later, something that surprised Jeff a little – a part of him had expected that Lauriniatis would find some reason not to get it for him, to chicken out at the last minute. Then again, the man didn't get to the top by not being ruthless and there was already plenty of indicators he'd do just about anything to stay on the top. Jeff was pretty sure though that had there been another option, the boss-man would have taken it.

He opened the guest list and cast a critical eye over it, deciding that it fitted his initial assessment. This was no engagement party and he was certain that Lauriniatis was panicking in his office, probably crying down the phone to Layfield while McMahon tried desperately for damage control. Could McMahon get away with his role? Maybe, but only if he'd covered his back well and was willing to admit to being monumentally stupid and Jeff didn't think his ego would allow it, and he was also certain that McMahon would have kept a little something around to implicate him, somehow. Or else someone might be willing to name him. Jeff knew damned well that there was no honour among certain types and Lauriniatis and Layfield would give anyone up for the sake of saving their own asses, even if all it saved them in the end was a few more years in jail than they would have done. Or a needle in his arm, when it came to Lauriniatis. He was the one after all, who had originally set Jeff in motion and Jeff still wasn't sure if, should it all go to shit, he was going to claim he'd been put up to the subway bombing or not. Just for shits and giggles, although not to see the look on the man's face – he wasn't planning on being taken alive should it all go to hell and he wasn't planning on going alone either.

Not that he thought anything would go wrong. It was amazing what one could get away with if one were willing to take a few risks. 

He printed out the list and ran through the names, ruling out anyone he'd heard of even vaguely until he got to Barrett, where he hesitated. There was a plus one next to his name but no name given, the same as several others on the list – but where the plus one was known, it was added in. Hmmm. He saw no sign of anyone called Ted and that disappointed him. He might have found his elusive muse through that. 

He was left with several names that he didn't know and he tapped the pen thoughtfully on his cheek before turning back to his computer. Most people thought that because he was an artist, in more than the one sense of the word, he would be computer illiterate when in fact the opposite was true. He had hacked into Lauriniatis's computer a long time ago and could access it remotely – a huge risk really, but what the hell. He didn't want much from it anyway, nothing that he wouldn't be able to simply ask for, it was simply more fun this way. Lauriniatis's security wasn't bad and it could only have been done by a computer with a high level clearance and in the same building thanks to the many protections, but it still made Jeff wonder just how much of Lauriniatis's stuff had been checked over or sold on by some mole in the corporation. Fortunately or otherwise, Lauriniatis wasn't great with computers and preferred some coded, hand-written papers that Jeff had taken one or two sneaky looks at and been unable to comprehend. Touché Johnny, he had thought to himself at the time. Not dumb at least. 

There was some stuff of use on the computer though, useful to him at least and one of those was a list of Del Rio's employees and a squib of their job description. Anything more would be in Lauriniatis's personal files but Jeff didn't need anything more. Several of the names on the list were employees and Jeff nodded to himself. He had hoped for pictures but with this information, any idiot could find out more. 

He typed in names into a generic search engine, coming up with some very boring information for several of them. None of them looked familiar to him at all, not until he came to Cena, John. That at least pulled up some information that was more than a little interesting. He had some social networks going on, although a glance said that it had been more than two years since they had been updated for some reason, as if he had lost heart in the sharing at some point. He hadn't actually deleted the sites though and Jeff found himself looking at several pictures of an attractive man, usually in the company of several friends and mugging at the camera cheesily. He wasn't sure, but he thought he recognised the man's dimples from the big guy who had been laughing with his friends shortly before Del Rio's office had gone boom. The hair was longer now and some of the pictures made it hard to tell, but he was almost sure. Almost. 

It was the same story when he got to Jericho, Chris. This guy had a whole lot more pictures and Jeff bit his lip in amusement as he thought he recognised a kindred spirit, someone who knew that looks were just there to have fun with. It was the foot-long plaited beard and the red dye in his long, blonde hair that did it and Jeff found himself warming to the man, up until he came to the more recent pictures in which he was clean-shaven, short-haired. Turned from what he used to be into another corporate clone. Jeff silently vowed that he would never let that happen to him, no matter how old he got.

Mizanin, Michael was slightly more interesting because Jeff knew he recognised this one. He had claimed the pizza that was meant for Christian, paid for it and sent Jeff on his way. Jeff smirked a little, wondering if he were quite so willing to steal others meals anymore...

And how was he going to a damned party when he should be in the hospital or the morgue?

Jeff's brow creased a little, thinking about it. There had been no fatalities reported, no serious injuries other than Del Rio's but they had all assumed it had been covered up to quell any extra investigation. But Mizanin was on the list, that meant he was still alive and up. Which didn't make any sense at all, not if he'd opened the box. And if the bomb had gone off, then he must have done.

Shaking his head slowly, Jeff marked a big star by the man's name. Perhaps he hadn't been the one to open the box, called away before some other poor bastard decided to swipe a slice. Maybe he had been protected from serious injury by some other factor. But that didn't feel right to his heart and he didn't like it one bit. Just thinking of the lawyer being at the party made him uneasy in a way he couldn't quite define. But he never ignored his instincts. He made a note to see that the hell the story with the lawyer was while he checked online for details of the man's plus one, Riley, Alex. That guy he didn't recognise even slightly but he was on the list of personnel for the corporation so he was employed there in some fashion. Again, as with the others, there was very little mention of their working lives online and this Riley seemed reluctant to have ever had himself pictured. Jeff didn't think it was because he was shy over his looks either.

He tried to put it to the back of his mind and went through a few more names, getting slightly bored. But in spite of that he went through everyone methodically, examining pictures and writing off names. He was debating calling a pizza for himself (all those memories made him hungry) when he typed in another name, got some pictures and forgot all about food.

His muse!

There he was, posing for some facebook picture with a friend who simply melted into the background in comparison. He looked younger and a little drunk, a close-mouthed smile on his lips. Jeff thought back to the slight gap between his teeth and mused that it was a shame it made him self-conscious. It was a damned interesting facial feature, one he planned to spend a lot of time on, artistically speaking.

He hunched over the computer, greedily searching out everything he could, knowing it would never be enough for him, not until he had the real thing to truly inspire him. Teenage pictures were ruled out more or less completely, although the shadow of the man was clearly visible in the face of the boy. It was later pictures that he was interested in, ones where the dark-haired beauty had reached his twenties and was looking a little more serious in some of those snapshots. His middle name was Garrett. He liked to read and to write fiction. Jeff hugged the snipped of information to himself gleefully, he thought he had seen that kind of light in the man's eyes and this was surely karma, he'd understand, if he really understood the creative process, why Jeff needed him where he could see him. 

Again, the man had not been near a social network for a while, although he seemed to go through sporadic periods of activity and then grow bored again. And there was no mention of the elusive Ted in any place at all. Mizanin (and there was that thread of unease again) had at least said that he and Riley were in a relationship but here, there wasn't even that. Strange. Then again, if it hadn't been on for long then perhaps it had fallen in his inactive period. 

“Cody,” Jeff said to himself, a smile on his face. Pictures were good, pictures gave him some more inspiration. And Cody Garrett, how cowboy was that? He didn't usually like the western type themes but with Cody as his model he might be able to put a new twist on what might otherwise be a generic, trite painting... there, and he was getting new ideas already. 

“You and I are gonna be working together from now on Cody,” he told the picture on the computer screen. “I look forward to it.”

He pushed the chair away from the computer and over to his canvas, already starting to think of some new themes, new paintings, exciting ideas. Much as he wanted to completely lose himself in the moment, he couldn't let himself. Pictures could only take him so far, but if he wanted the man himself in front of him, he would have to come up with a way to get Wade Barrett into Lauriniatis's clutches, or else he wouldn't be getting Cody into his.

~::~

“Don’t you get the feeling that we’re missing something?” Adam asked Christian absently as he approached the other Canadian on the shooting course. Evan was closest to them with a set of padded earphones on and a gun that looked heavier than he was in his arms, the barest hint of difficulty showing at the cumbersome weapon. For a moment the psychiatrist was distracted from his original speech plans, “Is that a bazooka?” he asked dumbfounded. For a moment Christian smirked and then shrugged innocently, “It might be something like a bazooka. Weapons aren’t toys, and those are hard to come by.” Adam pulled from his surprise then and smirked, shaking his head in amusement, “So it’s a baby bazooka wannabe? I’m sure they’ll be the talk of kids at Christmastime.”

“You think we’d have the market for it?” the shorter-haired blonde mock-queried before then wincing as a blast of machine-gun fire sounded; he hated the sound of machine guns more than any other gun for some reason, though that could have been because of the continued noise and the way it seemed to permeate even through the specially reinforced ear-muffs. “I’m pretty sure you would… you’ve seen the amount of toddler tearaways roaming the streets,” Adam said absently as he watched Justin adjusting a weapon in hand and then firing several perfect shots through the centre of the head of a life-size human-body cut out across the course.

At his side stood Wade, the doctor barely seeming to flinch around all the gunfire, though Adam supposed that had to do with the fact that he had been military way back when. However, when he turned his attention to John, beside Randy toting the machine-gun, he wasn’t sure he could apply the same description; for all John’s posture seemed relaxed if twitching on occasion in awareness there was no mistaking the tension in his jaw, or the way his hands flexed now and again as though he was itching to reach for a weapon of his own and respond to a threat that wasn’t there. A small frown touched Adam’s lips as he noticed, though he couldn’t deny he was curious.

John had been through numerous counselling session before being integrated into the company and yet now it seemed as though maybe he had been careless… or there was something else there that was manifesting itself physically as his psyche couldn’t cope.

Even as he speculated though Adam begrudgingly accepted that he probably wouldn’t be able to get anything out of John: the man was just too damn stubborn although first impressions indicated he could be quite the chatterbox if you got him on the right subject. And sadly his contract didn’t allow him to interfere in the private lives of employees, or grass them up to get them to talk, unless he was sure that whatever was potentially an issue was affecting/would affect their work in the grand scheme of things. Despite noticing a few indicators as of yet Adam couldn’t make that assertion.

Everything looked business as usual.

Which was possibly what made them seem all the more interesting, all of them. “I wonder,” Adam murmured, Christian tilting his head as he removed his headset now that the gunfire had ceased. “What did you say?” he asked, although he had known Adam long enough now to know where the other’s mind was wandering--- especially since he had a degree in psychology himself, though nowhere near as in-depth as the one Adam possessed. It took all of his willpower not to laugh because he would have thought Adam would have noticed what was happening by now, especially since he had been the one to first approach Alberto to ask what they should do should the units and handlers fall for one another, or develop feelings outside of friendship and duty.

“Nothing,” Adam responded with a smile before then turning around and heading back towards where his car was parked, the journey from his office to the training-range was not exactly walkable when he had a schedule to keep following. “Will you tell them that I want to see them later? Oh, that reminds me: Layla said to have everyone ready for her when you head back; ‘Berto’s arranged for them to be kitted out for the big party,” he made a mockingly fancy bow and pretended to slosh an imaginary glass of what Christian supposed was to be alcohol. “I’ll pass on the message,” Christian said amicably with a small chuckle before exhaling a breath as he watched the other walking away.

He’d never imagined his life would become so complicated.

~::~

“Why do I have to go first?” Chris whined playfully and Wade chuckled slightly before tilting his head and giving what was undoubtedly supposed to be an innocent smile--- but came out as a more unsympathetic smirk. “Because I do believe last time Miss El was fitting our outfits for us you were the one who complained about being left until the end,” he sent Justin a quick wink and Justin smothered a giggle by breaking into a light coughing fit. “Can I get you a drink?” Randy asked innocently and Justin grinned at him briefly, ignoring the wounded look that Chris sent them both, jokingly of course.

John and Wade chuckled, Cody and Ted also joining in the laughter from where they were sitting together across the room. Ted had an arm draped comfortably around the back of the couch, fingers just brushing the back of Cody’s neck, and Cody’s legs were draped lightly over Ted’s thighs, stretched out on the couch. The positioning was familiar, just shy of really intimate, but spoke of two people being comfortable with one another… and John knew from the brief flash in Chris’ eyes that he wasn’t the only one feeling guilty about the fact that Cody had no idea about Ted’s potential past feelings regarding homosexuality. However, it was for Cody and Ted’s own good that they weren’t told; now more than ever they couldn’t doubt when or what they might remember, and neither man wanted to do anything that would suddenly trigger some massively complicated relapse in one, or more, of their boys.

One person, however, was not joining in the sort-of-spontaneous festivities of Layla El attempting to fit the group of men for new suits, especially when Cody and Chris seemed to be the only ones who really cared. 

Randy didn’t seem fussed either way although had attempted to ask if he could wear a set of black jeans or something instead of dress pants (Layla looked scandalised) and Justin was looking as though someone had condemned him to a week of cleaning a high-school boys’ locker-room by himself. Wade didn’t seem too bothered since it was clear he was used to having to dress smartly, and it showed in his more casual wear too for the main, and John didn’t seem overly fussed either way neither, although when it was his turn to get measured it was clear that John didn’t seemed used to formal wear. Sighing inaudibly to himself Evan pulled one of his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around it, chin resting atop them.

It hadn’t escaped his notice of course that acting like he was was most likely to draw attention to himself but he couldn’t help it; he didn’t have the adolescent luxury of skulking off into his bedroom to wallow in self-pity because they were currently inside of Wade and Justin’s apartment, and although one bed was clearly not being used anymore he doubted that either men would be overly thrilled with him making himself comfortable there.

Glancing up when he felt eyes on him Evan almost jumped with guilt when he met John’s eyes, freezing almost to the point where he looked as though someone had encased him abruptly and unrelentingly in invisible cement. Evan’s heart-beat started to pound as he found himself unable to break John’s contact with his own eyes, terrified about what they, or his face, might reveal. Already he knew he was too tense to be considered anything but casual and John was no idiot: he could see through him undoubtedly. However, just when Evan was about to start babbling apologies and pleading for forgiveness John merely smiled, as though he hadn’t noticed anything and nothing was wrong, and then turned his attention back to where Cody was now standing on the podium. Even over the sick feeling in his stomach and the slight buzzing in his ears of fear and adrenaline Evan couldn’t help but notice that Layla seemed to work with almost unnerving quickness when it came to taking measurements.

When John looked away neither the buzzing nor the pounding heart-rate ceased and for a moment Evan wondered whether he was going to pass out, and then wondered whether that was even possible for any of them anymore. Although they still had a lot of normal functions they had been modified and changed to be considered almost the perfect soldiers, and so somehow he saw that they would, at minimum, have increased fortitude for things that might normally shake up most people. As Evan was in the midst of his little episode he hadn’t noticed that both Randy and Chris had noticed what had happened, but not noticed that the other had noticed. And both were concerned, although not for the typical reasons one might have thought given everything that had happened concerning Randy. He was just concerned for a friend since he had no idea that they had ever been involved in the past.

Or if he had had any indication then he was certainly good at playing it cool and they would have to put forward a recommendation that he go into high-profile acting or doing more recon work or something within the company because barely anyone he had ever come across had the ability to hold a poker-face the way that Randy seemingly could. Evan stretched his legs out, clueless now to the eyes upon him, and hopped down from the windowsill when Layla indicated that it was his turn.

The fitting did little to distract him and Evan found it hard to focus on all of Layla’s pointed and unbelievably quick instructions (“Stand this way, turn your leg that way--- no, tuck that perky arse in!”) to make conversation and small-talk, to act as though everything was perfectly OK and he didn’t have a care in the world outside of making sure that every mission he completed was executed to perfection and that…

That Chris was happy.

Apparently the subconscious wince he had given was physical too because Layla apologised and asked whether she had somehow gotten him with one of her measuring needles. For a moment Evan had no idea what she was talking about, but then when he came back to himself he was quick to reassure her that she hadn’t gotten him at all and that it was just a small pulled-muscle that was causing him problem. Layla seemed to buy his reasoning and none of his peers commented either so Evan thanked his lucky stars that for once he hadn’t drawn attention to himself at the worst possible times.

After what seemed like an age Layla was finally finished and everyone began gathering whatever things they had ended up bringing along with them to head back to their own apartments. Evan was right behind Chris as the other man left, biting his lip as he followed him along. They hadn’t really spoken all that much today but they had been busy with their scheduled activities and--- and, well, Evan had been a little bit frightened of attempting to converse with Chris. He didn’t want to say anything to upset the other further since he knew he had really hurt Chris the night before with his admission. Hurting Chris was something he had never wanted to do and he cursed the fact that he had allowed his temper to get the better of him, twinning with his shock at Chris’ misconceptions of his situation with Randy. In reality though he knew there was probably no gentle way he could have given this information to Chris without upsetting him.

If you had remembered, and you weren’t with Randy, then you could have told Chris right away and none of this would have happened, his subconscious supplied in a tone that Evan supposed was a reasonably pointed yet understanding one.

Scowling darkly at his own subconscious Evan then found himself suddenly connection with something warm and solid, subtle but warm cologne filling his senses and sending small shivers down his spine. Physically speaking he hadn’t been away from Chris, but that small contact was enough to send pulsations of longing racing through his veins. “Sorry,” he murmured softly as he forced himself back a little and straightened up. Chris glanced over his shoulder briefly from where he was unlocking the door of their apartment and nodded, “Don’t worry about it.”

Morosely Evan wondered if Chris was still angry with him, and though part of him firmly insisted that it wasn’t fair if he was another part could understand on some level; he didn’t think he’d be too happy to discover one of Chris’ former lovers was wandering around somewhere close by. That thought almost had Evan falling over (man he was clumsy this evening) but he forced himself to push it away as there had never been so much of a hint of anything like that in all the time he had known Chris and all of the people they had come across. A small part of him felt guiltily relieved to consider that because the thought of sharing Chris with anyone made Evan want to cause copious amounts of damage to anything within the immediate vicinity.

“I, um,” he cleared his throat softly and Chris turned to look at him from where he was shrugging out of the leather jacket he had worn atop a band t-shirt that day, “I was just going to hop in the shower—“he hoped the invitation to join him wasn’t as blatant as he thought it was because he wasn’t sure his ego could take much more of him making an absolute twat out of himself, “—is that cool?” The blonde looked almost confused for the moment before he shrugged and then started making his way towards the kitchen, “Yeah, sure, go ahead. I just wanted to check up on the hockey scores anyway.” Evan almost winced at the absent statement because he was pretty sure that it was not a good sign when your lover wanted to watch TV more than spend a little quality (and naked) time with you. “OK,” he mumbled meekly and padded towards the bathroom where he turned the shower on to warm and began stripping out of his clothing.

Was this what it got like when people fell out of love? Evan thought miserably to himself as the hot water cascaded over his chest, physically soothing him a minor degree even though it did nothing to soothe the pain in his chest. But Chris had promised that he still felt for him like that and Evan knew he wouldn’t lie or joke about anything so serious frivolously… but maybe it had become altogether too much for him in the end? One tortured thought after another ran through Evan’s head and he sighed as he dropped his head against his arm braced over the shower wall, water now freely cascading down his back to the floor where it lapped around his feet for a moment before being swallowed down the plughole. That didn’t sound like a bad eventuality to Evan, given the way he felt at the moment and everything else.

He was so lost in his pity party that he hadn’t even noticed that the bathroom door had inched open, allowing copious amounts of the steam that had built within to spill out. Chris slipped into the room almost like a shadow and Evan didn’t notice a thing, which meant that his mind was most certainly elsewhere because the second the units felt that there was another presence with them, and they were supposed to be alone, they would react to neutralise the presence until they had discovered whether it was to be friend or foe. And yet Evan didn’t do anything like that, and had Chris been anyone else there was every chance that he could have rendered some harm to Evan and initially the other would have been helpless to stop him. Reaching out slowly Chris placed a hand on Evan’s arm and turned him around, and although Evan tensed and let out a tiny gasp of surprise he did no more and he certainly didn’t fight against the figure that had joined him. However, there was a good chance that that could have been because Chris had just pulled him in so their soaking, wet bodies were pressed together most enjoyably and was proceeding to kiss Evan so thoroughly he couldn’t even remember what his own name was, or momentarily, why things had been so off-kilter with them both.

~::~

“Hey, what’re you doing out here?”

John glanced up from where he was sitting to find Randy standing next to him, a confused and slightly concerned expression on his face. Evan if John hadn’t have known Randy had gotten into the shower after they had got back and then he had come out for a bit he would have guessed from the fact his short hair was still damp--- indicating that he hadn’t bothered drying it very much before coming to seek him out. John was just glad that he had the presence of mind to get dressed this time though; Cody still couldn’t quite look him in the eye after that incident where Randy had come charging into his and Ted’s apartment to look for John who happened to be larking on Cody’s game console with him, having missed the explanatory note he had left behind to explain. Anyway, in his haste the door closed sooner than expected and took Randy’s towel with it. The memory of Ted covering Cody’s eyes possessively with his hand moments after the incident had occurred still made John chuckle, especially when he had looked questioningly at Ted and he had merely shrugged and quirked a small smirk that told him he didn’t care if he was being silly and he wasn’t going to apologise.

Shrugging John returned his gaze to the sunset, finding that the view from their apartment’s rooftop was actually damned impressive, although that could have been because they were essentially on their own and not surrounded by other buildings and such like they would be if they were further in town. “I just wanted to come out and clear my head; you know how I get sometimes,” he was aware it was evasive and a large portion of his conscience demanded that he tell Randy the truth, but he just couldn’t do it. If he could keep Randy from being triggered into remembering what he and Evan apparently had then all would be well; he may have been the only one knowing the truth of what was going on between Evan and Chris but he knew he hadn’t been the only one to notice their oddly hesitant and brief behaviour towards one another and he didn’t want he and Randy to become like that.

After a few moments Randy folded his impressively long legs down so that he was seated next to John, legs out before him but crossed at the ankles as he braced himself back on his hands. Ordinarily Randy would never think about letting them lounge in such an open space but they had never had any trouble at their apartments and he doubted that they were about to start it now. “What have you got on your mind?” for a moment he looked almost embarrassed as he too-casually-to-be-anything-but-obvious reached and placed a hand over John’s, looking out at the sunset to avoid looking at John’s face but there being enough light left from the dying day for John to amusedly take stock of the blush on Randy’s face. For all he could get demanding and was occasionally more short-tempered Randy was really very sweet deep down and John was sure he’d never get enough of the fact that Randy was complicated enough to keep him on his toes.

“You sound like I don’t need to have anything on my mind,” John joked and Randy grinned wickedly as he turned to meet his eyes this time, “With me around there’s only one thing that you should have on your mind.”

Their laughter melded together briefly and John nudged one of Randy’s legs with his own in something of a retaliation shot before falling silent again as he returned his gaze back to the sky. Since his accident and the significant stint he had spent indoors then and then mostly recently John had really grown to appreciate the simple and frequent events like the rising and setting of the sun.

“Is that why you came out here? Good old-fashioned booty-call?”

“I dunno if I’d call you old-fashioned… old, maybe, but—”

Randy grinned fiendishly as he ducked the playful and ill-timed swipe John took at his head with his other hand, using the other’s momentum to grab the hand and pull him down so he ended up underneath Randy with the younger man straddling his waist. “We shouldn’t do this out here,” John pointed out softly, because although he doubted at this stage anyone would be surprised he was a private man when it came to his affections and he could really do without getting a third degree about recklessness or something should they be caught out by the wrong person… Dr Adam’s face floated into mind and John mentally grimaced; there was someone he could really do without him finding out.

“Why not?” Randy murmured, nose millimetres from John’s own at this point and the man’s eyes completely enveloping his vision, “It’s just us up here, John.”

And wasn’t that part of the problem? Deep down, when he really allowed himself to think and wasn’t distracted by his heart or his second-brain (if you got what he meant), wasn’t that the sort of thing that bothered him? That even when Randy was no longer actively needed and was allowed to leave Alberto’s service (at least in that sense, John doubted they would be left jobless) in such full and dedicated terms, did that mean they’d be allowed to move out and seek houses of their own? To live real lives together as couples if that was what was still wanted by both parties when all was said and done?

The sensation of Randy’s lips against his own pulled John from his thoughts momentarily and he weakly flexed his hands where Randy had them both captive against the ground, making no real attempt to escape as he kissed the other back, shivering as Randy’s tongue stroked over his own and over his teeth in a way that John was sure no one had ever done for him before, or if they had then it hadn’t felt half as good. When they finally pulled away both men were breathing harder and John found himself responding with a smile when Randy smiled down at him, looking pleased with himself.

“What’re you smiling about?”

“You mean besides this?”

Randy pressed down slightly and John let loose a quiet moan as Randy’s hard groin pressed into his own rapidly-hardening one.

“Well, I’m grinning because… what were you thinking about, again?”

For a moment John drew a complete blank and found himself unable to answer… something that made Randy smile wider and John quirked a small smirk of amusement as he shook his head slightly. He had to give it to Randy: he really did know how to ease John’s stress. “Thanks,” he said softly and Randy’s playful expression softened then, but there was a glimmer in his eyes that John knew was deadly serious.

“I want you happy, John,” Randy murmured softly, “I want nothing more than for you to be happy and to be safe. I don’t want anything to bother you, ever, and I want to look after you.”

The heart-felt declaration startled John somewhat because although this should have seemed obvious to him it was different hearing it from his lips exactly, “I am happy,” he said, and he meant that because he was happy where Randy was concerned; life hadn’t seemed so fun to him, a relationship so meaningful, in a long time. “And you do look after me,” John playfully wrestled his hand free and poked his lover’s cheek gently with his index finger, “Almost to the point where you’re overbearing,” he semi-teased because Randy, like the other boys, could always get a little overzealous when their protective instincts were roused.

A pleased look crossed Randy’s face momentarily before he looked serious again, “I mean it; if you’re worried about the dumb party or anything like that then you don’t need to be. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” He didn’t need to add on that he would lay down his life to ensure that but the words hung between them loud and clear.

Cupping Randy’s cheek John leant up and pressed their lips together, resting Randy’s forehead against his own for a moment afterwards, “I love you, Randy.”

“I love you too… now get your big ass off this floor and back downstairs; it’s getting cold up here and if you get sick that means we can’t have a little fun in bed…” Randy got off of John and extended a hand down to the chuckling brunette, “My ass is not big,” he protested softly, though without as much heat as normal. He knew what Randy was doing for him and he really did appreciate it.

Randy squeezed his hand and sent him a brief smile before tugging him back towards the roof-stairs door to go back down to their apartment.

~:~

“No one's been back to Barrett's house in weeks,” Lauriniatis said irritably to Layfield as the two men sat in his office, trying to see a better way to what they wanted than using Jeff and not being able to. For better or worse, it was Jeff who would have to be their savour, assuming that the man didn't blow himself up or flake out in the meantime. Then again, he seemed to have been unusually focused that day, wanting lists of guests for this party and oddly, information about every listed injury that occurred when he bombed Alberto's place. And he hadn't seemed entirely pleased with that either, acting as if there was something missing from it. 

Layfield swished his drink around in his glass, not quite frowning. “Wasn't he followed when he kept going in and out of Del Rio's place, when it was out of commission?”

“Yes, but the orders were to watch the building, not the men in it,” said Lauriniatis. “No one knows where he went. The obvious idea would be that he'd gone home but I've had men in his home this week and even before that. Not only wasn't he there the last time we looked, it didn't look like he'd been in there since we were in there last. And before you ask no, there was no sign of any of his research there either. Just a lot of personal type junk, nothing that we could really use.”

“Nothing? No address book, sign of secret drinking habits, nothing at all?”

“Nothing at all.” Lauriniatis sighed. “Had we known at the time, we could have had him followed... but we didn't. There's nothing out of the ordinary at all there and no indication of where he might be now.”

Layfield tapped his manicured fingernails on the side of his glass. “I'd much rather that we have Barrett in our possession and his bodyguard in our employ before the party,” he said thoughtfully. “It's too chancy to allow for anything else. If we go to the party and Barrett vanishes, then there's a chance that the discovery he's there to unveil will be revealed anywhere and the entire point of him being ours will he gone. And so will our chance to prevent Del Rio from bankrupting you.”

“Yeah.” Lauriniatis considered for a while. “Maybe we should get someone to watch where Barrett goes from the corporation when he leaves.”

“You think you can manage that without him or his boyfriend noticing that they're being tailed?” Layfield snorted derisively. “With all this crap coming up, it's more likely that he'll be extra-careful. And there's already been so much happening that they'll be on the lookout for anyone strange hanging around.”

“Well, we still need to find out where he is,” snapped Lauriniatis churlishly. “Can you think of a better way?”

Layfield raised his eyebrows. “Don't you have a mole in the place?”

“Of course,” replied Lauriniatis. “Except he won't have access to Barrett's whereabouts. Probably won't even know, won't have the access on the computer box. If Barrett even told Del Rio he's relocated.”

“Of course he did! More than likely it was Del Rio's idea. Hide Barrett away somewhere 'til it's too late to get our hands on him.” Layfield laughed suddenly. “Ain't he gonna be steamed when he finds out that your guys went through his house a couple of times while he was gone.” 

“Least I can trust they didn't leave prints.” Lauriniatis wasn't really paying much attention though, too busy contemplating what could be done about the Barrett problem. It was one thing to allow Jeff to snatch him, quite another to give the man free rein without knowing where to grab him from. The party would be Jeff's preferred plan they both knew, because it was more dramatic, more risky, more stupid. 

Still... the shownman in both of them wanted to leave it at least close to the party, really make Del Rio sweat when he realised he had no shiny new weapon to show all those people who had arrived to see something special.

“Maybe we don't have to follow Barrett,” said Lauriniatis in the end. “All we have to do is have someone lingering nearby and see what car he uses. Then we can track the car and not the man.”

“Unless he carpools.” 

“There's always that of course. But if he does, then whoever he shares with has gotta know where he lives and we can get it from them.”

Layfield nodded. “It's a fair plan. And what're the chances he carpools anyway? He's gotta be worth a few mill, might even have a driver of his own. Who's gonna get that close to the car?” He caught Lauriniatis's expression. “No, not Hardy. He'd probably add a bomb just for shits and giggles, as he likes to say. How about your mole?”

Lauriniatis mulled it over. “Better idea. They'll be in employee parking so it's gonna be tough to get Jeff in there anyway. My guy'll already be inside and we can alert him to the right vehicle, since he won't have any way of knowing which one's Barrett's anyway.” 

“That's settled then.” Layfield drained his glass in a single swallow. “Get your boys onto it and let me know how it goes.”

Lauriniatis almost asked why it was that Layfield trusted his boys to do the dirty work when he had cast doubts on their ability before. And then it occurred to him that it was probably that should the shit hit the fan, it was just more trouble to roll from his own shoulders and onto Lauriniatis's. It wasn't a comforting thought and he drained his own glass just as quickly as Layfield had.

~:~

Drew McIntryre had been actively attempting to live a quiet life, but it suddenly seemed like that wasn't going to happen.

He'd had quite enough excitement in his life to date to last him for the rest of it. He'd barely been out of university when he was accepted to a work placement in America, a place completely different from his native Scotland and had taken the opportunity in a heartbeat. It had been his first taste of real freedom and he'd thrown himself into it, having the time of his life – but when he'd been offered the chance to stay on, he'd had to really think about it. America was fun and all, but he was a little homesick and although there weren't as many opportunities back home as there were here, he was pretty sure he was good enough to get himself a chance and the Del Rio corporation on his resume didn't hurt those chances. He often thought that he certainly would have been on a plane back to Scotland once his placement had been up had it not been for meeting The Bitch.

The Bitch had walked into a bar one night, beckoned Drew over, tied a leash to his cock and dragged him around by it for the next three years... or that at least was what it felt like. She had the kind of body that Drew had only ever had in his room when there were staples in the middle and page numbers in the corners, long blonde hair, an angels smile and the devils own temper. He had fallen hard and fast and the more he idolised her, the more strident and demanding she became. Oh, but she had an evil tongue and was a mistress at cutting through a man's mind and aiming straight for his weaknesses, but just when he thought he'd had enough she was suddenly the sweetest, most thoughtful woman on the planet... and if she had a demon's rage, she was also a demon between the sheets. 

They had married in Vegas barely six weeks after meeting, Drew feeling like the luckiest man in the world as he paid with his five-thousand-dollar-winnings, his mind swimming in a sea of good feeling and good whiskey, the most gorgeous woman who was ever born smiling at his side in swathes of hastily bought white lace. It had taken ten minutes. He'd had dumps that took longer than that and his life had never gone swirling down the crapper alongside the results, unlike his ill-starred marriage. It had been almost two years of screaming arguments, broken plates and explosive sex. Two years in which she thought it was acceptable to throw everything in the house at him, kick him, scratch and bite, try to take out his eyes with her killer nails, while he had to just restrain her as gently as possible – he was still the man after all and it wasn't on to do her harm just because she was trying to do that to him. He had been brought up better. He just wished he had been brought up smarter.   
In the end, there had been one fight too many and he had thrown The Bitch out into the night and called up his friends to let them know. There was a lot of congratulations, a night of serious drinking as they toasted the end of the harlot that had taken Drew by the balls and squeezed, her grip finally from around his testes... or so he thought. Only twenty-four hours later he had staggered to answer a knock on the door, eyes bloodshot, clad in nothing but boxers and a stained shirt, long hair all over the place and the scratches along his cheek still clearly visible. He had been handed divorce papers that woke him up in a hurry; The Bitch had decided to go all-out and take everything he had. She still had him by the balls and she wasn't even there.

It had taken a long, long time to get free of her forever and Drew thanked God every single day that they'd never had children – he wouldn't have minded but had known all along it wasn't fair with their lives in such turmoil and in any case, The Bitch was scared of losing her waistline and her plastic tits sagging. But no children meant a clean break, except for dividing the assets. And that was the problem. The apartment was in his name and he was the one in regular work rather than the sporadic magazine modelling his wife had partaken in. And she still took more than she deserved, the money that Drew had somehow managed to save in spite of The Bitch thinking that saving money was for morons and that it should all be spent on keeping her amused, or pretty, or happy. He sometimes looked at his depleted bank account and wanted to weep. And worse, he knew that her behaviour and his dealing with it for so long had depleted his respect from others. He felt a little as if he had something to prove, but really all he wanted was the life he'd had before he'd agreed to go for a drink in the bar where The Bitch got her claws into him. 

Somewhere in the middle of his troubles, when he was starting to realise just how long it was going to take, how nasty it was going to be and how much his lawyer charged an hour, he'd had a job offer from John Lauriniatis. He had gone to the interview with a vague thought of starting over, getting a raise and having a new group of peers who had never met The Bitch and thought he was pitiful for falling for her. But Lauriniatis had a different kind of proposition for him. He would pay, he had said in soothing tones, for an update of anything that happened in Del Rio's corporation. Once a month, a nice payoff and it wasn't exactly industrial sabotage. It was nothing like it, in fact. Drew was in marketing, not in weapons or medicine or computers, none of the things that could actually cause issues for Del Rio. Drew had the idea that he was being shafted, the man was selling snake oil and there was plenty of damaging information that he was giving out, stuff he didn't even realise was damaging. The trouble was, he didn't much care. He needed the money, that was the cold hard truth of the matter. The Bitch was trying to clean him out.

He took up the offer and it hadn't blown up in his face. His life had gone back to something approaching an even keel with The Bitch gone for good, the boss never found out about him giving up information and he was starting to feel that he could breathe easy with his finances finally looking a little healthier.

It never once occurred to him that maybe it wasn't that Alberto didn't know about his side project, it was just that the man thought it better Drew than someone who had real information and should he want Lauriniatis to know something that wasn't strictly true, he now had a sure-fire way of letting the enemy receive that information. Drew didn't have much of a head for politics. 

Only now Drew had suddenly been pulled into something that he wasn't at all sure he wanted to be involved in. It wasn't that he thought it was shady, he didn't even know what it was. All he knew was that he had agreed to give Lauriniatis an update once a month, more often if he had something interesting to report, and now he was supposed to be getting his hands dirty. And that hadn't been a part of the deal. 

But he managed to reason with himself, once the men who had turned up uninvited to his apartment late in the evening had gone. They had been sent by their mutual employer and Drew wasn't stupid enough to think they meant Alberto. The instructions seemed simple enough. The following day, he would get a text with the registration of a vehicle. He was to find the car in the employee car park and was supposed to attach a very simple device behind the plates. When he asked rather timidly if it was something dangerous – he had been in the building during the recent bombing and although he hadn't seen so much as a flame, he was still very mindful of potential danger – the men had just laughed at him, assuring him it was a simple tracking device. Drew didn't know why anyone at the corporation would need to be tracked, wasn't sure he wanted to know. It didn't seem ethical... but then again, it wasn't as if he was going to hurt anyone. How could wanting to know where someone was going be in any way damaging? More than likely it was simply another one of Lauriniatis's recruitment drives. He had known all about Drew's marital and financial woes when he had approached him and quite simply put, there were some people who were more likely to take him up on his offers than others. Drew chose to believe that he just wanted to accost some other poor sucker somewhere they were less likely to be seen by Alberto, or find out if they were in any kind of trouble that could be exploited. 

Drew worked in an open plan office in marketing, his cubicle having three walls with the occasional picture tacked up on there. The snapshots of The Bitch he had printed out on his home computer were long gone, straight into the shredder and good riddance, replaced with a rather optimistic photo of his home town and a jokey list of things to say (try saying 'I'm not sure you're familiar with the issues' instead of 'you don't have a clue, dickhead'). Back in the bad old days when he was married to The Bitch, it had been a refuge. That day, he felt as if he was being watched. Which was ridiculous as he wasn't doing anything wrong. Well, not really. Nothing serious at least. 

When his text finally went off, he jumped about ten feet in the air, only to find out it was his service provider trying to get him to upgrade. Irritably he deleted the message and the moment he put it down, it went off again. This time he didn't recognise the number and he opened it with some trepidation. There was no greeting, no clue as to who it was from, simply a series of letters and numbers comprising a car registration and the word Chicago to denote where the plates had been issued. Well duh. Drew rolled his eyes and managed to restrain himself until lunch, when he went back to his car claiming he wanted his kindle. He had parked right at the far end, taking precautions as he so often forgot to do (such as when he forgot about that popular expression marry in haste, repent at leisure) and checking every registration as he went past the cars. There were so many of them and the car park was so huge that he very nearly missed it and probably would have done had it not been for how conspicuous a bus looked in among the upmarket cars. His eyes slid to the plates and he stopped. This was the one he was looking for. 

He glanced about casually and then stepped toward the bus, looking as if he was simply getting out of the way in case any cars came past, making a bit of a show of untying his shoe and tipping it up as if there was a stone inside. As he slipped the shoe back on, he reached into his pocket and took out the device he had been given the night before, marvelling at how small it was. Quickly he tied his laces again and leaned on the bus to help him back up, his fingers pressing the device on the back of the plates as he did so. A part of him was worried that the device would simply fall off, but he had been given strict instructions and he neither saw nor heard any sign of it shifting. Deciding he had done all that he was supposed to, he took off again, almost forgetting that he had to go back to his own car and get his kindle so he didn't look suspicious. 

He didn't know who the bus belonged to but he expected a hell of a bonus for this days work.


	21. Chapter Twenty: Found You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alberto imparts the candidates for the recipient of their synthetic skin to Wade, and Justin gives Wade a talking-to about taking on too much work by himself. Ted and Cody share an intimate moment whilst Jeff learns some interesting information from the tracker Drew put into place.

“I think I've found a way to overcome our uh, difficulty in finding a success case for the party.”

Alberto beamed at Mike, Justin and Wade, who had all been called up for a meeting with the boss. Wade had initially been a little surprised at the choice, but it made perfect sense now he knew what it was about. He was the man in the know about the breakthrough so he had to be there. Justin was charged with his safety, so he had to be there. And Mike was still officially the legal brain of the operation, so he had to be there. Admittedly Mike hadn't been concentrating much on his legal work of late but Wade's opinion was that it was high time that he did. He clearly needed to be busy and he definitely needed to get rid of the idea he was going to be Alex's protector. 

“We don't want to show any of you on the news because you three—” Alberto indicated to Justin. “Are top secret and you--” He nodded at Mike. “Haven't been known to have been injured and there's nothing but questions if you are. Anyway, we've got no proof that you were ever injured at all.”

Mike raised his eyebrows but remained quiet. 

“What we need is proof that's completely irrefutable.” Alberto levelled that beaming smile on Wade and Wade frowned, knowing it was never a good sign when the boss was jovial. “So I thought that we'd do something a little benevolent, si? A gesture of goodwill--”

“You want Wade to operate on someone else,” said Justin flatly. 

“Si, but you make it sound like a bad thing!” Alberto took a brochure from his desk drawer and spun it across the desk. “This hospital, we make many donations--”

“Tax deductible,” added Mike.

“Si, but does that matter?” Alberto gave that smile again, the one that reminded Wade of a master salesman about to hook the account – and wasn't that really what Alberto was? “Their children's ward specialises in burns cases. Less surface to work with, eh? I'm sure there is some parent who cannot afford the expense of the surgery currently available who would be willing to have their child undergo something so life-changing and for free... and yes, it will do us good to show your breakthrough in the medical sense and one that will appeal to the heartstrings. The important thing is that we will have proof that your synthetic skin is a success and as well as that, the injuries will have been verified and photographed by a third party. It really is a win-win situation.”

Wade sighed. “I'm really not supposed to be doing operations, I'm supposed to be in research...”

“I know, but this will be the last one for a while and once this is in the public domain, as you said, it will remove a threat from your person.” That part was more to appeal to Justin than to Wade. “And a child with burns will have a better chance than if they were left to skin grafts in the normal way, or had to wait for the synthesis to become affordable.” That part was to appeal to Wade, who for all his gruffness was secretly somewhat soft-hearted. 

Wade rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I'll have to decide the candidates suitability and we'll have to get it done soon if you want them awake for the party.”

“Of course,” said Alberto smoothly. “I have taken the liberty of compiling a list – perhaps you can choose for yourself. And Michael, we'll need the standard disclaimers. No fault for Dr Barrett, the corporation and none-disclosure.”

“I can do that,” said Mike, sounding more animated than he had in a while. “It'll have to be airtight of course.”

“Of course,” agreed Alberto. 

“But I don't foresee anything going wrong,” said Wade absently, already going through the list that Alberto had supplied of suitable candidates. 

Justin sighed internally. “Can I just point out that this is another operation where we'll be in a public hospital? An unprotected public hospital? My objections are the same as the last one.”

“Nothing happened there,” said Alberto dismissively. “And I hear that Jack is doing very well.”

Justin shook his head, not sure how to vocalise his frustration – and it didn't matter much, he was sure already that Wade was going to do this, would have done no matter what the outcome for the company would be. He could see the pictures that Wade was looking at; they'd be lucky if he didn't insist on operating on the whole lot of them. Kids from maybe a year old to pre-teen, swathed in bandages, showing horrific scars where they weren't. Kids who had been caught in house fires, had upended scalding pans onto themselves while learning to stand unaided, at least one that had been deliberately targeted. Alberto knew how to appeal to Wade's conscience all right.

“We'll arrange it,” said Alberto, in a tone that signified the conversation was done with. “The sooner the better. We'll be all set for the party and then when it's all over with, you'll be able to leave the operations to others and get on with the miracles.” He grinned. “And you'll get a large bonus for this work Mr Barrett. And maybe a little leave, should you want it. Although of course, I must insist that your uh, bodyguard accompany you should you decide on a little time off.”

Justin gave Alberto a sharp look – did he know? But Wade seemed to barely hear, still going through the file... and yet Justin knew that he had heard that last part perfectly well and was just trying to act unconcerned. And to Justin, a break away from it all, just him and Wade, seemed very sweet. 

Alberto always knew the right buttons to push to get his own way.

~::~

“I don’t like being manipulated.”

Wade turned and glanced at Justin curiously as he opened the door to the mini-bus and got in, Justin following suit.

“What do you mean?” he asked, checking everything was as it should be before he started backing the vehicle out. He could have used his own personal car, but getting it out of the garage was a load of hassle compared to the mini-van which was nearly always under the outside canopy ready and primed for use.

The car park was somewhat full, but there weren’t that many other cars around and so Wade was able to back out of the spot they had parked in to meet the boss-man with relative swiftness and ease, and they were soon driving back through the town so that they could make their way back towards the apartments. “I mean Alberto,” Justin muttered flatly as he looked over the simple dossier that had been prepared to let Wade know what sort of things he should expect with the potential children he could be working on.

There wasn’t one specifically highlighted so Justin assumed that the final decision of precisely which child he would help would fall down to Wade… and the guilt his secretly tender-hearted lover possessed would undoubtedly have him going back and doing what he could for the others he didn’t choose as soon as he had the time.

“He’s not doing anything malicious,” Wade pointed out, “And what he’s suggesting does have its multiple benefits…” he trailed off when he noticed that Justin didn’t seem in the least bit moved by his words and it hit him then that it wasn’t so much the children, or working in an unprotected hospital, that had rattled Justin’s cage. When he asked, “Are you nervous about Alberto before? Mentioning the time off?” the tone and hesitation had been impossible to miss and the two simple actions had been enough to convey a multitude of… things. Emotions, thoughts. Wade had noticed but when Justin hadn’t mentioned anything about it the moment they were out of Alberto’s company Wade had been of the impression that he hadn’t noticed.

How foolish of him. Justin noticed everything, almost to the point where it made Wade’s attention to detail pale in comparison.

“No,” Justin muttered, though from the slight way that his bottom lip jutted out as he stared down at the papers on his lap (apparently none of the units got travel sickness or headaches when reading when travelling, something that Wade hadn’t actively designed but that was a most useful plus) Wade knew that he was lying… or at least attempting to mislead him on the truth. He wasn’t too sure that Justin could genuinely lie to him about anything.

“Justin… He seems fine with it. If he wasn’t then he would have said so. Surely you’ve noticed by now that he’s hardly the type of man who pulls his punches?” he looked almost amused by the consideration as he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Justin, and when Justin glanced up and saw the look he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to smack Wade or kiss him. So, he resolved to file away his frustration for later when he could channel it into a more productive way of ridding himself of the extra energy…

Wade had better not be thinking of sleeping that night. Not for a long while.

“I know that, but doesn’t that bother you? That he didn’t say anything?” Justin knew that he was likely to be ‘projecting’ his anxiety about Wade potentially being made into a vulnerable target for the sake of business onto a mundane issue, but now he was on the scent so to speak he couldn’t shake himself off. “Not really,” Wade admitted, shifting gear and thanking goodness that he could now remember on which side of the road to drive---

His first few experiences on American roads had not been pretty...

“Really?” Justin arched a brow, channelling his inner-Mike with the sentiment as he turned properly in his seat to watch Wade, the scenery of the town melting slowly but surely into the trees and greenery that blended towards the outskirts where the apartments were placed. “Yes, really,” the Brit said, bringing his hand off of the wheel momentarily to give Justin’s knee a small squeeze before returning it; Wade was a very conscientious driver and even though the others took the mickey out of him for driving as though he was preparing for his test the man wouldn’t even so much as move his hands from the ten and two position. “If he has no problem and doesn’t say anything then we shouldn’t look a gift-horse in the mouth and accept our boss’ blessings for what they apparently are.”

He smiled that smile then, the one that made Justin feel weak-kneed when he was standing, and that had his stomach squeezing. “You’re certainly optimistic nowadays,” Justin commented as he pulled up outside of the apartments, Wade killing the engine moments later. “I guess I am,” Wade said absently, knowing that most who had known him would never have thought such a thing from him because he was often viewed as so serious and logical. If you asked Wade though he would maintain that it was because he had never had someone as precious to him as Justin before to make an effort for.

~::~

“Well, there it is,” Laurinitus murmured as the small red dot beeped lethargically on the screen that some unknown drone had presented him with when he had requested it from his ‘team’. Their inside man had come through, and as such that meant Johnny had to, and would, come through too.

Not only did he have a business arrangement to honour but if he fucked the Scotsman over then he would go to Del Rio in a heartbeat and then everything would be over. Losing his business would once again be shown to be the least of his worries considering he was pretty sure that placing illegal bugs in their own right was an arrest able offence, and if that sparked them off into looking at him in detail--- well, who knew where they would end up? Life without possibility of parole didn’t sound like a whole load of fun to him even though his life was far from a barrel of laughs at the moment.

Apparently the drone realised that he was being dismissed because he set the small screen down and then excused himself from the office, muttering something under his breath about being, “underappreciated” and “undervalued”. Had Laurinitus been interested enough to pay attention to the man he would have been signing his name on a pink-slip before the day was out. As it was the man escaped with his job this time because Johnny’s attention was fixated on the moving dot and the coordinates that were appearing alongside it with each tiny movement.

With a bit of quick and clumsy fumbling Laurinitus managed to fumble his computer (carefully scrutinised by their in-house computer nerds and fixed for any damage JBL had caused in his temper) and tapped in the coordinates into a search engine, not even thinking about the fact that even if he deleted the history any police technician worth his wages would be able to pull forth the information in a heartbeat. Had he known then he might have used the internet on his phone instead because they were less likely to check the internet on there, but as it was he didn’t and so carried on as he was.

Finally, after what seemed like an age to him, the little dot stopped, blinking sluggishly but continually as he watched, eyes feasting it in as though he was expecting the dot to somehow tell him the secret of how to best Del Rio without having to even leave his office to do it.

When he tapped in the coordinates into the search engine though he found his excited smile dimming as quickly as it had begun growing when the system insisted that there was no address listed there, that it was only some wasteland or an industrial estate or something like that; the logistics weren’t exactly specific, but considering that he was dealing with the internet, where anyone and their dog could post online and act as though they were some sort of expert on this and that, he didn’t know why this shocked him. Still frowning heavily enough to draw out stress and age lines around his eyes and mouth Johnny jotted down the address that was listed on the computer screen and then shut the item down.

A brief glance back to the little touch-screen tablet that showed the blinking dot of their placement and sighed, rubbing his temples; why did things need to be so tricky and complicated? Why wouldn’t things go back to being the way they had used to be, back when everything was so completely straightforward and each man played to his own and did business as needed but wherein you didn’t need to put so much effort in to get to the top. Well, not effort to get to the top per se, more… that things seemed to come so much simpler back in the old days. None of this war-fare bullshit.

“You’re lookin’ a little tense y’know?” came a casual drawl and Laurinitus was almost sent sprawling out of his chair and onto the floor, but he managed to catch himself in time before he embarrassed himself even further and he seated himself upright immediately with ramrod straight posture as he eyeballed Jeff. The artist was smiling in that same apparently serene (but that JBL insisted was just plain old insanity) way he usually did, but Laurnitus wasn’t entirely fooled; there was something in Jeff’s eyes that seemed almost gleefully and eerily triumphant.

A not entirely unexpected fission of fear skated up and down Laurinitus’ spine as he narrowed his eyes, the note he had been in the process of writing concerning the date and journey time of the mini-bus forgotten on the desk before him. “What are you doing here, Jeff?” he asked, the words coming out a little more weary and a whole lot more weary than he would have liked them to but that couldn’t be helped; the bomb fanatic made him nervous for all kinds of reasons, the least being that he could be the one finding an explosive in his food if he didn’t watch his back around him.

 

For a moment Jeff’s amusement seemed to grow, “I work here.”

Laurinitus could have kicked himself; he really had walked into an obvious one there, and if there was anything Laurinitus hated it was being considered an idiot even for a moment.

“That wasn’t what I meant,” he muttered churlishly, “I meant what are you doing here in my office?” unless he was summoned to be there Laurinitus could have counted on one hand the number of times Jeff had willingly stepped into his office.

“Oh?” Jeff hummed as he moved closer to Laurinitus’ desk, absently playing with the rather pretentious sporting ornament that rested there causing Laurititus to twitch forwards as if he was going to grab the item back before he seemed to think better of it--- and that was possibly one of the smartest things he had ever done. Jeff did not take kindly to having things taken away from him when he was using them or showing interest in them. His big brother Matt had always lamented that it had always been a nightmare when they were children because Jeff could just not be made to see reason when it came to that sort of incident.

“Well, I did have something to tell you, that I thought you might be interested in, but since you’re clearly not in the mood for company I can just let myself back out again…” he hummed and turned on his trainer-clad foot to head back to the door without apparently even so much as a slight backwards glance. This wasn’t strictly too because he was paying attention to Johnny through the very edge of his peripheral vision, and so he saw the exact moment when the older man all but lunged out of his chair.

Clearly his composure was shot to hell because of everything that had happened and for a moment Jeff almost, almost pitied the man because everything he had been working so deviously to build was falling down around his ears more and more as each passing day came and went. “Tell me, Jeff,” the tone was supposed to be commanding the now orange haired Jeff believed, but the slight wildness in his eyes and the small sheen of sweat dotting his brow told otherwise.

Laurinitus was afraid, genuinely afraid. And desperate. Wow, he was really getting freaked out wasn’t he?

“I’ve found the name of my muse,” Jeff announced and for a moment the words seemed to almost echo between them as though he had shouted them down some kind of ravine, when in reality he had barely lifted his voice over usual levels.

Finally, when the shock had worn off, it seemed Johnny had located his voice again, incredulity all but choking him and turning his face an unattractive shade of purple, “You have got to be shitting me, Hardy!” he hissed, and Jeff looking so naively unruffled in the fact of his temper was enough to draw forth another choked noise from the man. He was in hell. God was punishing him for everything he had ever done wrong in his life starting from when he had first soiled outside of his nappy as a baby, he was sure of it. How else could the Almighty find amusement in lumping psychopaths like Jeff and Layfield on him? Laurinitus, being Laurinitus, failed to concede that he himself was hardly a moral and upstanding member of society in the traditional terms because he could see no wrong in himself.

“No,” Jeff drew out the word and then made an exaggerated popping noise with his lips as he cut the sound off, rolling his shoulders out and stretching, either not noticing or ignoring the fact that Laurinitus was all but chomping at the bit to get his hands around Jeff’s neck to throttle him or another equally unpleasant (unless you were into that kind of thing) unless he came out with information that the other man would deem to be necessary. “But surely you realise what this means?”

When Laurinitus continued to stare at him, confusion now interspersed with anger, Jeff rolled his eyes.

Speaking then as though he was talking to a particularly slow and difficult child (the way Laurinitus puffed up and bristled like some pissed-off chicken made it worth it) Jeff enunciated, “I know who they are, Johnny. I know the names of those guys who we’ve seen around before, the ones who were with my muse when my little game was discovered…” Only Jeff could consider a bomb to be a game.

For a moment something almost akin to delight appeared in Laurinitus’ eyes before they then narrowed somewhat suspiciously, “Just what good is that going to do us?” he demanded, “If we don’t know where they are then how the fuck are we going to—” he cut himself off almost as abruptly as though someone had thrown a switch on him, eyes widening as they flew back to his desk where the touch-tablet was sitting, the screen having falling into hibernation mode, but Laurinitus knew that the moment he pressed a button it would be enough to bring it back and if he did the flashing dot would be there, showing him where his next meal-ticket was.

“I see you’re finally catching up to the moment, Johnny,” Jeff said cheerfully as he watched the emotions flashing over Laurinitus’ face like scenes on the reels of an old movie, “So, would you like to know what their names are? I can match pictures to them as well.” It had occurred to him that he couldn’t find any of the other men that had been with the four whose identities he had discovered, but it didn’t concern him altogether too much. At best the men that were associated with them had adequate gun control and at least some strong level of self-defence in hand to hand combat. They wouldn’t be a problem as long as they didn’t go about this the wrong way…

And considering that his muse was at stake here Jeff wasn’t about to let anything go wrong or get in his way.

~::~

“I kind of think that this probably wasn’t what Alex was talking about when he said exercising—”

“Does that mean you want me to stop?”

“No sir, I don’t mean--- oh damn!”

Cody giggled slightly at the small curse Ted let loose because it wasn’t often he heard him use bad language, or even raise his voice. The incident when he had been confronted by the bomber was the only occasion where Ted had shouted, lost his temper, and swore, that Cody could bring forth in his mind when he tried to make the connection. Not that he liked seeing Ted so upset but there was something about hearing his perfect gentleman doing something that was considered so very uncouth.

Currently they were back in their apartment having finished hand-to-hand and weapons for the day, and something had suddenly caused that undeniable spark between them to blow full-throttle. Since they hadn’t had much time together recently wherein one or both of them hadn’t been happy merely with a little kissing, cuddling and even gentle fondling before falling to sleep in each other’s arms since their first night together, Ted wasn’t at all surprised that they just seemed to go at a moment’s notice. In the back of his mind he knew the weird tension that had been simmering below the surface regarding the party probably had something to do with it, emotions running high and all…

The blonde would be lying though if he claimed he was going to try and steer Cody away because there was a chance deep down that he might not really want this; Cody had proved time and time again that he wanted him, from saying it, to the way he so fantastically worked his cock with his hands or his mouth and even the little gestures like letting Ted have the last pork-chop when they had dinner together or splitting the chocolate truffles he was so obsessed with without a word of complaint whereas normally Cody was likely to actually bite someone should they so much as look at his chocolates.

So, well, Ted was going to do like Randy always said and seize hold of the moment and not worry about anything else. In the back of his awareness something told him that such spontaneity was strange from him but as much as he tried to grasp the thought it seemed determined to evade him, and just before he could get frustrated Cody’s mouth met his Adam’s apple, lips massaging as teeth nipped, and Ted promptly forgot everything but the half-naked, fully-gorgeous man currently straddling him. It wasn’t nice to consider what had happened to himself, and the others, to have brought them to Alberto’s notice and whatnot, but Ted thanked his lucky stars that he had met Cody out of it all…

Cody made everything seem worthwhile, and gave him that reason to keep living.

Ted cried out breathily as Cody suckled hungrily on first one nipple and then the other, fingers taking over the neglected nipple until Ted’s toned chest was peaked with two pebble-hard dusky nubs, his stomach quivering and jumping as his excitement grew. His heart was pounding in his ears and his tongue suddenly seemed ten times too thick for his mouth, barely allowing him to conjure words that weren’t completely nonsensical as he tried to communicate to Cody that although his teasing was mindblowing could be please hurry the hell up before Ted disgraced himself like some child?

His own thought made him pause though as the consideration of a child experiencing something like he was feeling was enough to make an uncomfortable feeling settle in the pit of his stomach. However the discomfort was short-lived when Cody seemed to heed his words and made short work of helping Ted divest himself of the rest of his clothing and his own, the two men gloriously naked and unable to hide the profoundly basic and yet honest effect they had upon one another. Ted’s cheeks were stained red with exertion and need already, something that would have embarrassed him slightly had Cody also not been wearing a fetching shade of flush that had spread even down his neck.

The second he saw three fingers being brought towards his mouth Ted opened his lips and immediately sucked the fingers in, lathing them the same way he remembered doing when Cody had taken him. The thought made Ted shiver in pleasure, curious to see whether anything would be different this time around with their lovemaking… bar the fact that this time they were doing it on the living-room carpet as opposed to in their bedroom. Most people may consider the change of location pretty basic but Ted felt as naughty as a school-boy who was going to get caught doing something wrong…

Or so very, very right.

When Cody eased his fingers from his mouth Ted automatically spread his legs--- but then his mouth dropped open equally wide as Cody’s fingers disappeared towards his own entrance and not Ted’s. Ted didn’t know whether he had ever seen anything so erotic as Cody preparing himself; his eyes were lust-blown and his hair a mess, his cheeks flushed and his lips so lewdly kiss-swollen. Despite that all being very appealing to Ted though something bothered him, and before he could even think to notice the fact that Cody’s movement were somewhat awkward, as though he wasn’t used to doing this, and that he should probably offer to help Cody out somehow, Ted found himself blurting,

“Will you turn around Cody? I—I want to see you touching yourself.”

The look of surprise on Cody’s face absolutely mirrored the surprise Ted was feeling internally at himself, but when the ravenette smirked suddenly, angelic and devilish all in one, Ted almost came then and there. When Cody coyly twisted himself so that he was straddling Ted’s waist in reverse, his luscious ass proffered in a way that allowed Ted’s awed and greedy eyes to see the two fingers that were now working to loosen Cody’s muscles enough for him.

Adam in a dress… Ricardo professing undying love for him… Ted thought desperately of anything that might help him stave off orgasm, but Cody didn’t make it easy to try and lock it back. And the little minx most definitely knew it, and relished in it.

~:~

Ted found himself breathing heavily, completely entranced by the sight of Cody preparing himself, making the occasional happy sound that made Ted's cock twitch every single time. His attempts at finding some thought that might take his mind away from what was happening weren't being at all successful and without even thinking about it, he propped himself up on one elbow, sucking on his own fingers for a moment before reaching out and allowing himself to slip one of his own fingers inside Cody beside the ones that were already there. 

This time the sound Cody made was slightly surprised and a whole lot louder, suddenly thinking less about teasing Ted and more about the feeling of fullness. Ted was clearly unsure he was doing the right thing but Cody couldn't fault him for a second and showed it, moving back on the digits with a quiet growl. “Teddy,” he whimpered, trying to simultaneously look over his shoulder and roll his hips. “I need you baby--”

Ted was suddenly very aware that he was going to take Cody by the man's own request and hesitated fractionally, something that Cody had anticipated as soon as he had decided he needed to experience his lover in this way as well. He rolled his hips a final time and then withdrew his fingers, Ted doing the same and sitting up properly. Cody moved quickly, straddling Ted's hips and undulating against the blonde, making him groan. He kissed Ted's lips lightly before reaching down to grip the base of Ted's cock and lowering himself slowly on it. He could feel Ted starting to throb before he was even half-way to seating himself fully and he distracted the other by lacing his fingers in Ted's hair and kissing him passionately, slowly lowering himself the rest of the way until he could feel Ted entirely inside of him. It had been a long time since he had been in this position and he vaguely wished that Ted was the first person to know him like this – on the plus side he could show his apparently inexperienced lover a few tricks. 

He moved atop Ted and the blonde moaned again, hands going to Cody's ass and gripping with surprising abandon, the kiss between them getting messy. Cody broke it for a second to get his breath, setting the pace slowly as he tugged on Ted's hair, kissing him again and again, keeping them short but passionate. Ted's hands moved over his ass and lower back, aiding his movements, stroking over his skin in a greedy fashion. 

Cody lost track of time as he felt Ted inside him, filling him in a way that no one had ever done before. When Cody threw his head back to cry needy moans to the ceiling, Ted's lips were on his jaw, at his neck, nipping over his skin and leaving unashamed red marks. He leaned back further, his voice getting louder as the changed angle allowed Ted to hit his prostate, knowing that Ted's hands were there to support him if he got too carried away – and he was right about that, Ted had him just as he always did.. 

“Teddy--” Cody had managed to keep their lovemaking slow to that point but he couldn't help the speeding of his hips as he sought his release. “I love you Ted...”

“I love you too Cody,” murmured Ted against his collar. “So much, more than anything...”

Cody moaned, never able to get enough of those words, and when Ted dug his fingers into Cody's ass harder and thrust himself deeper into Cody, Cody stopped trying to hold back and let his orgasm wash over him, crying out as his hands fisted in Ted's hair. He felt as if he was simultaneously melting and exploding, as if Ted had become a part of him. He could hear Ted crying out, slightly muffled against Cody's skin, feel the heat as Ted filled him... and he swore that he had never felt anything so intimate and intense in his life.

He lay Ted down and had planned on lying beside him for a while, trying to get his breath back and simply bask in the afterglow. He hadn't quite expected that Ted would hold onto him so tight even after they were done, but he had no objections to it. 

“I love you Ted,” he murmured, unable to get the smile from his face. 

“I love you too,” said Ted, a matching smile on his face but the rest of his expression unreadable. “More than anything. No matter what happens. Don't forget that Cody, no matter what happens.”

Cody frowned slightly, the oddness of the words getting through his post-coital haze. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing,” replied Ted, looking a little surprised that Cody had even had to ask. “I just wanted, I dunno, emphasis.”

“Okay,” said Cody agreeably, lying beside Ted and snuggling against him, perfectly content and thinking nothing more of it.

~:~

It looked to Justin as if Wade was going to keep reading through the paperwork that Alberto had given him once they had gotten home and there was no way he was going to allow that. As soon as Wade sat on the edge of the couch, already glancing at the notes in his hand, Justin smartly whipped them from his grasp and put them on a high shelf. At four or five inches taller than him, Wade wouldn't have a problem rescuing them but the symbolism was more the point than the placement.

Wade looked a little startled. “Justin--”

“No work now.” Justin went back to the couch, easing himself between Wade's back and the back of the couch, kneeling and starting to rub Wade's shoulders. For a moment Wade seemed to be a little taken aback and then he relaxed, leaning back into Justin a little more.

“You can't save the whole world Wade,” said Justin, directly into his ear. “You need to ease off a little.”

“I'm going to,” protested Wade, his voice slightly thickened from the massage. “Once we've revealed the skin and the patent's ours, then there'll be no need for all this and I'll step back a little.”

“That's what you say,” replied Justin, smiling a little – if he wasn't so absorbed in his work then he wouldn't be Wade, but it was his responsibility to put the brakes on where he could. “But I'll bet you've got something else you're considering right now, aren't you?”

“Well...” Wade sighed. “Okay! Doing all this with the skin, I was able to do a lot of muscle repair but it occurred to me that there's a lot of muscle damage that doesn't necessitate completely reconstructing bodies or anything. But once a muscle's damaged it tends to be weaker and easier to harm a second time and so I was wondering if there'd be a way to apply the science behind replacing muscle to strengthening the pre-existent ones.”

Justin laughed. “Damn, it's so sexy when you talk shop.”

Wade flushed slightly. “Sorry. Before I get down to that, I will be taking a break. And I'll still be working with you of course.”

“Of course,” said Justin, although he decided it might not be the time to voice a fear that was becoming more and more certain in his mind. Wade needed someone to cover his ass at all times, that much was certain. Wade was a valuable asset to Alberto and more than likely the boss was pleased there was someone around that Wade wouldn't object to or give the slip. No matter what Wade's military background was, he still had the habit of underestimating his own importance. But the team had originally been dreamed up to deal with covert missions, a foursome who would be talked through their missions by the men who handled them. Justin had the vague idea that Wade wasn't even supposed to be involved, except that no one had thought Evan would live through the ordeal and it was more a case of emergency than genuine desire to be involved. He didn't need reassurance that Wade was glad he had got involved, he was already sure of that. But the other handlers weren't as essential to the corporation as Wade was. They were military intelligence and didn't have the same high profile as Wade did. In brutal honesty, there were a lot of people who could do their jobs and very few who would even be able to touch what Wade could do. It was true that events meant the group had evolved into something other than their originally conceived goal, but certainly once this was over, it was more likely they'd go back to it – and quite probably, without Justin. He had his own assignment and he was almost sure that Alberto would see the trouble caused thanks to Wade's breakthrough and decide that although Wade hadn't been personally targeted, it was too dangerous to allow him to go without his own guard. 

He wanted to be around Wade, protect Wade, of course he did. He was just a little sad that the others would be the ones going on dangerous missions and he would be loitering in hospitals and listening to doctors talk shop. He felt a little ungrateful for the emotion; it wasn't that he didn't want to be with Wade or that he relished the thought of the man's stress at him being in the field. But he had been spared death for that reason and now he felt as if he wasn't achieving his primary purpose.

“I'm in a unique position to help a lot of people Justin,” said Wade, his muscles easing beneath Justin's clever fingers. “Alberto gave me free rein and I'm pretty sure that if I insisted he pay for everyone, it'd be fine by him as long as it worked out in his favour – the money this is going to generate, it'll more than pay for it and send his stock into orbit. He knows that. And there's these kids--” He indicated to the bookshelf vaguely. “I don't think I can pick one who's more needy than the others. If I can make their lives better, then I think I have a moral responsibility to do it.”

“But not one to do it alone,” said Justin gently. “Look, it's very simple. There's gonna be one or two who're more than willing for experimental treatment on their kids, others who'll be more leery because it's never been tested as far as they know. You pick from the desperate for your test case. We unveil that at the party and then you can help the others out by using them as demonstrations of another kind. You'll have to show how it's done to professional bodies and other doctors so that they can use it, right? So you don't have to do it all at once. You don't have to do it all yourself. Let them play with the skin, or the eyes. The more people who've been shown by you and can successfully operate, the better for everyone concerned, right?”

Wade turned his head to look at Justin, a little startled. “Oh hell, you're some kind of genius. It never even occurred to me that anyone else could do it!”

“I'm not a genius, just practical.” But the praise had Justin smiling.

“Actually, I'm going with my original assessment.” Wade reached around and coaxed Justin onto his knee, a smile playing over his face as he pressed a quick kiss to Justin's lips. Justin wrapped his arms around Wade's neck and kissed him back, more thoroughly. It was a little daunting to be with a man who wanted to save the world one person at a time and one who thought he was so indispensable, some might have thought him arrogant but Justin knew that it was simply a natural product of being brilliant. But he fully intended on making Wade use all the tools he had to hand and that included delegation.

“So, Dr Barrett,” he said, almost purring. “I think we've done all we can today. Are you gonna take me to bed?”

Wade laughed, something that Justin definitely didn't hear enough of, put his arms around Justin's waist and stood up. Justin made an unmasculine sound of surprise and then chuckled. “Hey! I'm supposed to be the soldier around here! You're not allowed to carry me there!”

“No arguments, soldier.” Wade kissed him again and then made his way to the bedroom with Justin still in his arms.

“Yes doctor,” said Justin, aiming for meek but too busy laughing and with the firm intention that he was going to keep Wade awake for hours and hours. 

~:~

Waste ground my ass.

Jeff had no idea how the area had been classed as non-existent but he suspected someone with money had pulled a lot of strings. The 'waste ground' actually held several houses that seemed to have been emptied recently and he thought it likely they had been bought up with some intention for their future, and hadn't he heard that Del Rio was trying to start up cheap and affordable local housing for his staff? Not everyone who worked at the corporation had a high-paying job after all, that was strictly reserved for the important players. 

But one building had every sign of being occupied. A large building that took up plenty of space in its own right, a garage large enough to house four or six cars on one side and Jeff just bet it could be opened at either end to allow the various owners to get their cars out without a lot of pissed-off shouting in the mornings about being blocked in. The doors were closed but he'd bet that if he looked through the window, he'd see the vehicle that Lauriniatis had ordered bugged that morning. His guess was that there were several apartments in the place, as many as fifteen or as few as five, although if there were five they'd be huge. Not that money was an issue here. 

There were lights on in several windows and at one point a man exited onto the balcony of the top floor. Jeff had chosen his hidey-hole well, one of the empty buildings opposite, sitting in darkness with binoculars trained at the target. The height of the balcony made it a little hard to see the man who was there, but he was broad enough to suggest to him it was the Cena guy. The light behind the man worked against Jeff but he was about ninety per cent sure he was right. Then a second man emerged and Jeff frowned. He was taller, shirtless and Jeff thought he could see ink (he always appreciated good tattoos but he had no idea thanks to the conditions if they were good, bad or ugly), his arms wrapping around Cena a moment before he said something and went back in. Cena stared out a moment and then followed him. He didn't look entirely comfortable in Jeff's humble opinion. 

The door closed and after a while the main light went off in the room, replaced by a flickering blue. Movie night. Jeff smirked a little to himself at the thought and kept his binoculars trained on some of the other windows. 

He had no idea who the floor below belonged to, none at all. They had not been outside as far as he could see (and he cursed the way that the vehicle could be parked inside the garage and then the occupants didn't have to leave to get into the building, making it tough for him to see who was in there). The lights were on and there was a window open but he was too far to hear anything and no one passed by the windows, which had the blinds drawn in any case. It was annoying but there wasn't much he could do about it.

He was getting about the same from the floor below, although at one point a dark haired man had been briefly visible closing the curtains. Jeff had frozen, staring through his binoculars and trying to get a good view of a two-second opportunity. His muse? He wasn't sure it wasn't but something was wrong. He thought the hair was slightly longer and maybe it was the way the building was but he thought he might be shorter. Still, it really wasn't a good enough chance to be sure and every so often he would stare that way in frustration rather than keeping a good eye on the other rooms. Still, in the morning someone would have to open the curtains again, right? Unless they were like him and simply never bothered... but he was sure he'd get another chance to look.

It was the second-to-bottom floor he knew he should be most interested in, because he knew that one to be Barrett's, or rather where Barrett was hiding out. He'd seen the man pass by the window and he was a hard man to mistake for anyone else, no matter how fleeting the glimpse had been. And there was the bodyguard as well, the one that had been described to him, a handsome and rather exotic looking young man that had Jeff wondering if the man might be available for a little modelling while he waited for his muse to fall into his grasp – no, given what they were planning for Wade, probably not. But since the bodyguard would be working for them until they had Wade's breakthrough safely in their hands, maybe he would be able to take some pictures. Then when he had done all he could with Cody and his new muse was old news, he could do a little work off them. He worked better from life but there was no point in being greedy and he knew that Cody was the one who really lit the fire of imagination within him. 

There would be no movement for the rest of the night, he knew that much, and it was too chancy to go in tomorrow morning with no clear plan and without knowing exactly who was in which part of the building. But the next evening? Hopefully he'd have amassed enough information by then to know who was where. 

And in the meantime, he'd stay right where he was. 

Jeff looked around the room with some interest. It had been decorated nicely and hadn't been empty long enough to gather too much dust – rather a shame, he would have liked the ambience in a truly deserted house. If he needed to nap then the carpet was just fine for that, but he intended to stay awake until the last light in the building opposite had gone off and he was sure that he could get a couple of hours without missing anything. However, there was nothing happening over there right now and with the blinds all closed, he probably wasn't getting a look at anything until the morning.   
Pursing his lips a little, he pulled a couple of cans of spray paint from the bag he had brought and grinned. Graffiti wasn't really his medium but hell, an empty house and a blank wall – he was only human. And it would be rather nice to leave some mark that he had been there. Plus it was a chance to practice with the cans, something he didn't get a lot of chance to do. All in all, he saw no real reason why not, at least until there was no more light from opposite and he could sleep on the carpet among the paint fumes until he had the chance to watch for his muse again.

~::~ 

The following morning seemed to dawn much too early for Jeff and he grimaced slightly as the sun persistently seemed to be splintering through the protective covering of his eyelids to rouse him to wakefulness. Since his sleeping pattern was generally disrupted by bouts of insomnia Jeff often slept heavily when he managed to wear himself out enough for the sleep-sickness to not occur… and it appeared that last night he had done more than enough to cultivate a good night’s rest, though he could have done with a few more minutes at least blissfully under. As Jeff hazily wondered why the blinds seemed to be doing nothing to bar the pesky and irritating light from bothering him the events of the previous night came flooding back to him like some wild tie-dye of memory; the spying, the prospect of seeing his muse, the paint fumes…

Oh yes, the paint fumes.

When he had been younger Jeff had had a period wherein he had used drugs and though he was now six years clean there was still that itch there he couldn’t quite scratch, and since he didn’t want back on the hard stuff (his brother would kill him for one) he used whatever he could that might give him just a little bit of that feeling that he missed so much. Yes, he probably had ‘a problem’ as they called it, but he didn’t care; he knew what his mind and body were capable of and as far as he was concerned the drugs hadn’t done anything bad to him because they hadn’t been too bad… pretty basic stuff actually given the money he made and what he could afford should he still be spending it as he had.

Sitting upright Jeff rubbed roughly at his sleepy eyes with the back of his hand and then crawled across the floor of the vacated apartment to the window, bringing his binoculars up so that he could take a look and see if there was any activity from the little hive of worker bees that he was currently observing from his spot safely ensconced across the way.

The first thing he noticed was that there weren’t many people who came around, if any, that weren’t ones who apparently didn’t live there. A curious expression crossed his face as he considered why that might be, and then grinned a little to himself as he realised that he had probably stumbled across Alberto’s treasure-chest, so to speak. He had his hidden valuables here and they had nothing to do with all of the money he could (and often did) flaunt around as though it was nothing, or the fancy clothing and cars… he valued these people enough to keep them secretly hidden, taken their living-space off of the map and everything. It was definitely a curious thing to consider alright.

Of course the fact that his muse lived there and was so well-protected made sense, because Jeff would also endeavour to take good care of him until he was finished with him, and depending on how well he behaved as a model then he would let him go again without issue. If he misbehaved… Well, he would consider that eventuality when he got to it, although something told him with the right leverage he would secure good behaviour from the model in question.

Adjusting the binoculars to the window wherein he had seen the person he had thought was his muse the night before Jeff then frowned as a dark haired man returned to the window, wishing he had better gear to see than he did. Definitely the same dark hair and fine face, but from where he was Jeff knew now that this person wasn’t his muse. But, again, he was someone that could definitely qualify as a model. There were so many good looking men in that group, like fine collector’s dolls all housed in somewhere where eager, sticky hands couldn’t mar them, in a special little box to keep them safe from the world. Jeff suddenly had the urge to start painting on the walls again, a mural of the doll-house that he could see before him.

Fighting in the urge however, he managed to catch as a blonde, older then the small dark haired cutie, pressed a kiss to the man’s cheek and then they exchanged a few words, both looking serious for a moment before they moved away from the window and Jeff lost sight of them, something that caused him to pout. For all his secrecy might have been preserved by this point he was lamenting the fact that he couldn’t get close enough to see half of what he wanted to see. Maybe when they all came out then he would see better… but what then? Already the artist for all his daring knew that he wouldn’t be able to just waltz into their building and take a look around; if they didn’t have CCTV and guard-dogs somewhere at the very minimum he would be shocked.

Absently he considered blowing it up, or putting a bomb somewhere nearby just to attract their attention, but he knew that Johnny would likely have a conniption over it and JBL was annoying enough when he wasn’t lording over people, so he decided against it. Curling his fingers around the lenses tighter he adjusted them, muttering under his breath about people who seemed to take forever to get ready even though he usually wouldn’t rise until lunchtime should he not need to. Today was the exception of course because he had other things to do, important observations that needed carrying out.

The observations he was currently carrying out as he considered it.

Finally, after what seemed an age, the front doors finally opened and a group of men came out. Three Jeff recognised from his research on the social media sites, one was Barrett whom he obviously knew because of the obsessive dossier that he had found right when he had begun working for Laurinitus on the man, and of course he had been on TV several times since. And the other four… Well, he knew what their function was but he didn’t know who they were. It was almost as though they didn’t exist… they had to be the ones innocuously labelled as the plus ones on the invite list.

Just as Jeff was speculating whether taking photos on his phone would do him any good at trying to identify the four men climbing into the van ahead of the others, Jeff’s attention immediately centred on his dark-haired angel. The artist twitched, adrenaline pulsing through him as he grinned deviously, mind working in overtime to consider all of the ways that he could draw or paint this one. So many art forms, so many scenarios…

And if he came through with this then he could have his muse there to pose and accommodate him as much as he wanted, or needed, him to.

He was smiling that day, apparently at ease with himself, and although he was still attractive with that look on his face Jeff much preferred the tension that had lined his jaw and the fear and anger that had lit up his eyes, turning them into phosphorous flames within his angelic face. When he got his hands on him you could be sure that Jeff would be doing all he could to recreate that look; something that would probably be quite simple considering the fact that he was one of Barrett’s friends and Barrett was soon to be persuaded by Johnny to give them all he knew, and to join them, otherwise someone would get hurt.

The second that a handsome (in an annoyingly wholesome and typical American way, Jeff dismissed) blonde laid a hand on his muse’s arm to help him into the car Jeff knew, somehow just knew, that this had to be the Ted he had heard about that time before. He didn’t know why it was him, and not the blonde with the dark haired little one that he was so set on, but his gut had never failed him before. He had named everyone down there in the group (until later when the rock-star’s name would come to mind and he’d kick himself for not remembering the former kindred spirit) apart from the exotic male who had stuck close to Barrett upon entering the vehicle, and the small dark haired man who looked like he could be a relation of his muses.

Johnny might not see his little overnight business-trip as productive outside of the fact that he had managed to find out where Barrett was staying, but to Jeff he had learned a great deal. He didn’t know whether he wanted to tell Johnny about this place though, because knowing Johnny he would do something stupid and ruin the whole thing--- and he didn’t want that to happen.

The moment the minivan pulled out of sight Jeff shoved his items back into his bag, including the paint-cans (fingerprints could be such a pain in the ass) and then exited the building with light and easy steps, glancing around to make sure that he somehow hadn’t missed anyone coming back. When he saw that his coast was clear he pulled the pizza delivery cap low over his face, hiding as much of his rainbow coloured hair as possible and then slipped up towards the front door.

Clever eyes spotter no cameras outside the front, not even the typical hidden ones, but he didn’t risk lifting his face to have a more thorough look, and when about two minutes passed and no guard dogs attacked him he presumed that maybe their security wasn’t quite as advanced as he thought.

The keypad on the door proved that they weren’t dumb though, and that most people couldn’t just walk in, and Jeff pouted slightly that his surprise wasn’t going to be as much as he would have liked. Grinning wickedly Jeff reached underneath his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of artist’s paper, securing it to the door with some tape he then backed away from the apartments and hastened off. His car had been left somewhere further away from the apartments and not on the main path, so unless you were looking (and clearly his specimens hadn’t been) you wouldn’t find it. Clamouring into the vehicle that had been so sweetly provided by his boss’ Jeff then started on his way back.


	22. Chapter Twenty-One: All In The Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wade meets the child he's going to operate on, and Jeff leaves an unwelcome calling-card at the apartment block.

“So you’ve decided which kid then?” Chris asked curiously.

Wade sighed, “!t wasn’t easy, but yeah, I have.”

“How did you pick?” Cody asked, “I don’t think I’d be able to choose one over the others—”

John pulled a face at Cody and the ravenette flushed as he realised his slight lack of tact but Wade didn’t look altogether surprised, as though Cody hadn’t been the first person to suggest such a thing. John cleared his throat then and asked, “So, which one did you pick?”

Though even as he asked out of genuine interest he wasn’t sure he could know; he knew that Wade had mentioned some of the kids had been victims of neglect as well as horrible accidents or unfortunate illnesses and if there was one thing that really burned his waffles more than men who abused women it was people who messed with kids.

If you couldn’t look after them or obviously didn’t have the temperament to have a child then you shouldn’t have one. He wasn’t advocating just aborting them, but that was the ladies’ choice, but you could always give them to people who may want children and be generally great people, but for some reason chosen they couldn’t have one of their own… 

Glancing across to where the boys were going through their usual drills with Alex, Mike sitting just off to the side but watching closely, Wade then pushed a folder across to his fellow handlers and flipped it open. Inside there was a picture of a cute little girl with red hair and bright green eyes, her front teeth missing in a cute smile. She looked as though she was maybe no more than five, six at a push.

“That was what she used to look like,” Wade murmured softly and John grimaced as Chris and Cody both winced slightly. “Before her father trapped her and her brother in the house and then set it on fire. He was intending to kill them, apparently, before killing himself. Fortunately he only succeeded in the latter. The brother managed to escape and ran for help, though couldn’t recuse his sister. He was only nine and broke one of his legs in his own escape. By the time the girl was rescued she had sixty percent burns, most of which were concentrated to her face, neck and torso, her hands also received some damage.”

A collective sharp breath of shock and disgust ran around the table and Chris snorted, expression dark, “He got lucky to get taken out so quickly,” he muttered, and a vehement agreement was emitted from Cody.

“She wanted to be a teacher, apparently, though she’s not sure she can do it anymore,” Wade added, and Cody asked, “Why?” in a voice filled with trepidation. It was like a verbal train-wreck; you didn’t want any more details but at the same time you craved to know what else there was to the story. Wade sighed and his eyes looked suspiciously glassy--- but he wasn’t the only one in that sort of state as he finished, “She’s afraid of frightening the children that she would teach. She said people think she’s a freak now, looks like a mummy because of all the bandages, and she doesn’t want to scare them.”

Cody made a sound suspiciously like a sob then, but cleared his throat and scrubbed at his eyes. No one called him on it even though usually there would be some good-natured ribbing going on.

“I bet she wasn’t the only one with a story like that was she?” Chris asked softly and Wade shook his head, heaving a sigh as he closed the folder and drew it back towards himself.

“No, she wasn’t. But her, and her brother are being adopted by their deceased mother’s sister and her husband, who can’t have kids. And they said she’s too scared to leave the hospital even though her family tell her she’s beautiful and there’s nothing wrong with her. She’s too scared to face the world because she knows how cruel it can be because of the way she looks, regardless of why she was to look that way.”

If Wade could help children like Millie with his technology, then why shouldn’t he? If others could do what he did, wouldn’t that be a good thing?

“I don’t envy you mate,” Cody admitted wanly, “I think I’d cry all the way through the procedure if I saw the poor thing.”

Wade chuckled absently and nodded, looking out to where Justin was landing several kicks against Evan who was giving back as good as they got, both men laughing and serious all at once as their friends whooped and cheered. The tension that had been surrounding Evan and Chris had abated, and not it seemed that all everyone had on their mind was the upcoming party. His introspective thoughts were broken when Chris asked, “When are you going to see her?”

The doctor blinked a few times to bring his mind back to the topic at hand and then admitted, “Tomorrow I’ll be meeting with her and her family, to fully discuss what I would do and how it would help her. If Millie decides she doesn’t want it after all though I wouldn’t force her and I wouldn’t allow her family too either even though I’m sure they’d be pushing for it if only to help her.”

“You really are a miracle worker, Wade.”

A flush covered Wade’s cheeks at John’s words, “It’s just what I do, nothing miraculous about it. If I can help people then I should bloody well do it shouldn’t I?”

The other men nodded, and fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts for the moment, thinking about the children that Wade had probably poured over all night (once Justin had let him go of course) to choose, and how he must have agonised over and over at that choice.

None of them envied his decision, because, well, they doubted that they could have been big enough men to do it. And chances were that had Justin not been there to temper Wade down then the man would have somehow booked himself up for the next year, or however long it took to help all of the children in that hospital. Their boys could have easily been the same, they realised, more so than ever before. The damage they had sustained, if it hadn’t have killed them, would have unfairly had them considered as freaks or shoved into hospitals out of sight of society for the rest of their lives.

Needless to say the boys were somewhat shocked when they suddenly found themselves being embraced quite firmly by their handlers once their training was over. They exchanged surprised looks with one another at the PDA that usually none of them would have indulged in when the others were around, but then they merely returned the embraces, sensing that their lovers needed something from them, and being happy to provide it even if no one bar Justin knew what they needed it for really.

~:~

Justin found himself excused from shooting and weapons that afternoon as Wade went to the hospital to see to the child he had selected from the small, unfortunate group that had been afforded to him. The girl's guardians were there to greet them and Wade was careful to ask if this was really what they wanted, reassuring them that he had tested the skin before but the visual results were top secret. 

“I've heard great things of you doctor Barrett,” said the husband almost as soon as Wade had closed his mouth. “And whatever happens, it has to do some good. It can't be much worse really. We've gotten to the stage where we don't really notice it, but people...” He sighed, taking his wife's hand. “People can be cruel.”

Wade nodded. “I'll do all that I can, but I think that Millie is an excellent candidate.” 

Mike had accompanied the pair to the hospital and he took over, discussing the legal documents with the couple while Wade asked Justin to wait outside and stepped into Millie's room. The girl wasn't wrapped in bandages the way that some people imagined burns victims spent their time and all her wounds were exposed. She had been playing with a hand-held console but when Wade walked in, she glanced up and carefully turned her head away. She had no hair but Wade could tell by the twitch of her head that she was used to having plenty and would have been hidden behind it had she her choice.

“Hey,” he said casually.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. “H'lo,” she mumbled slightly, turning off the console. Wade got a look at her hands, seeing that several of the fingers had been fused together although the thumbs remained not too bad. He thought that if the bones were still there he could fix that and if not, perhaps prosthetics were the way to go. 

“I'm Dr Barrett,” he said. “I'll be doing your operation tomorrow.”

That got her attention and she turned to look at him full-on, almost defiantly. Her face had the odd, melted look of burns victims, white and red and brown, one eye closed and impossible to tell if it were there or not, although Wade knew from his notes, the other eye staring at him. “My uncle says that you can put my face back together again.”

“I'll be doing my best.”

“You talk funny.”

“I'm from England.”

“Okay,” said Millie amicably. “I seen that place on TV. Is it gonna hurt? The nurses keep saying things aren't gonna hurt but they do.”

“Well.” Wade shrugged. “You'll be asleep during the bad parts and by the time you wake up, the hurt should have finished.”

“I don't mind so much, if you can make it so people don't stare.” Millie sounded matter of fact, but her good eye looked down at the floor. “I just want to go live with my aunt and uncle and make friends – no one's gonna be my friend if I look like this. I just wanna be able to go live there without anyone pointing and calling me names.”

“No one would do that anyway,” said Wade, slightly unconvincingly because it wasn't true at all, his voice a little gruff. “But we'll see what we can do.”

“My uncle said you'd done it before.”

“Yeah,” replied Wade. “I've done it before but I can't show you any pictures because it's a secret. You'll be the first person we have pictures of to show people that now, we can make injuries like yours better.”

Millie tilted her head slightly and it occurred to Wade that she was probably as cute as hell before her father attempted to kill her and her elder brother. “Did it work, the last time?”

Wade nodded. “Yeah. The results were... perfect. I had good stuff to work with before I started though.” He smiled. “Like you, we'll have you as close back to your usual self in no time.”

“You promise?”

“I'm a doctor and I'm not allowed to promise anything,” said Wade quietly. “We're supposed to tell you to expect the worst in case things don't go just right. But I promise, I'll be trying my best with you and I don't see any reason why we won't get the best results. That okay?”

Millie shrugged. “That's okay. That's better than nothing and that's all anyone else can do.”

Wade had rather expected a tantrum or something, he wasn't used to dealing with children but he thought it would be a good idea to put the kid at ease before the operation. Not that he was complaining. “Well, I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be the one behind the face mask.”

Millie chuckled. “I've had a lot of operations by now y'know. You all wear face masks!”

“Then you'll just have to guess which one's me.” Wade smiled at her, gave a slightly awkward wave and headed out of the door, almost running into Justin, who would no doubt deny with his last breath that he had been listening. He raised his eyebrows and Justin had the good grace to look embarrassed. 

“I thought you were looking around the place,” Wade said pointedly.

“You need to show me where the op's taking place so I can get a bead on things,” said Justin. “And then I want to look around the perimeter and the wing that the room's in. I want the others around so that we can keep a good eye on things. It would be better if the handlers stayed home but I want the other three keeping an eye out for us.”

“Isn't that overkill?”

“No.” Justin met Wade's eyes. “Until this thing is unveiled and your name's put on it, you're a target. No one's been after Christian and it's like we thought, there's been too many attempts for that plan to be pulled off now. I doubt anyone could get to Alberto and that leaves you next in line. I won't be slacking off 'til we can be sure it's too late for anyone to sabotage or steal your work.”

Wade wasn't particularly happy about that but he could understand it and wasn't about to argue too much with Justin over his own safety, especially when it made Justin more at ease. He simply nodded. “Come on, I'll show you where we'll be. Mike, are you coming with?”

Mike looked up from where he had been speaking with Millie's aunt and uncle. “I've got all the signatures I need.” He nodded cordially to the couple. “I'll be seeing you both and thank you for these.”

“I'll be with you in the morning,” added Wade. 

“Thank you Dr Barrett.” Millie's aunt smiled rather tearfully and watched as the doctor and his entourage left the corridor where they had been lingering. Millie might have been waiting for them but for a few minutes the couple sat outside her room, trying to get themselves together. Of course they would love the stricken child no matter what but knowing what she had been through thanks to her father in the last few months, they didn't want her reminded of it every time she looked in the mirror or some cruel person decided to comment. Deformed was not an epithet that anyone wanted attached to a six year old. 

A few minutes after the doctor had left, the doors opened again and a man came through, one that neither of them recognised. They gave him a slightly interested look – the thing with having family lingering on the burns ward was that they tended to know the family members of other victims by sight and had a painful bond with them. This guy however was a stranger, which didn't mean he wasn't a casual visitor to one of the other children. 

He looked around and pulled his face into a rueful expression. “Did I miss Doctor Barrett?”

“He's still in the hospital somewhere,” said the aunt. “But he's not here anymore.”

“Damn.” The guy gave them a smile. “I couldn't believe it when I saw him outside. He's like, his name's in a whole load of my textbooks – I'm a medical science student? I asked at reception and they said he was in this direction... I was kinda hoping to accidentally bump into him, maybe get an autograph? My teacher would go nuts.”

“You're in medical science?” The uncle smiled a little. “Do they allowe that hair in the hospitals?”

The guy touched his hair and grinned himself. “I'm not planning on being a doctor as such, but it's simple enough to get something sensible should I need to. In the meantime, it's the only chance I'll get to play around though, right? Not without being an artist or something. Do you know if he'll be back?”

“Today? I shouldn't think he'll be back this way.” The aunt looked rather proud. “He's operating on my niece.”

“Wow, that's quite an honour, I hear he doesn't do that many operations himself.” The man's expression took on the appropriate, if slightly overdone, sympathetic overtones that were required when talking about an injured child. “When's he gonna be doing that?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Well, best of luck. Not that I think you'll need it, he's really good.” The man gave them a last smile, looking at the opposite door. “He went that way? Maybe it's not too late to engineer that meeting.”

“Hope you find him!” the uncle called out as the man took off in that direction.

“Nice guy,” commented the aunt.

“Yeah, even if he did seem a little old to still be studying still. And that hair!” The uncle chuckled a little and put the stranger out of his mind. “Come on, let's see what Millie thought of the doctor.”

~:~

None of the others were back when Wade and Justin got to the apartments and Wade tapped on the keypad to let them in through the front, having left the bus for the others and getting Mike to drop them back. Mike seemed well recovered from his ordeal, he thought casually as he put in the numbers. Clingy certainly and the dulled sensation in his skin was still present according to what Mike told him, but the recovery was going well and there was no reason that Millie would be any different. It was a shame he hadn't been able to bring Justin and Mike into the room with him and tell the child that both of them had been through the same operation that she would have tomorrow and show her that they both looked fine. More than fine when it came to Justin...

“Hey, look at this Wade.”

Wade looked over to where Justin was just standing up, having picked something off the floor. “Looks like it was taped to the door and blew off,” he commented, flicking the scrap of tape at the top and then unfolding the paper. “Huh.”

“What is it?”

“Picture of Cody.” Justin walked over to Wade and showed him, Wade looking at it without much interest – Evan was a good artist but Wade had seen his drawings before and he had no real desire to look at Cody's face all day. He had been covertly interested in the ones he had done of Justin however, as much as he tried not to show it. 

“Why would he tape that to the door?”

“Maybe it's a present for Ted,” said Justin absently. “He's given him pictures of Cody before.”

“And you guys pass notes behind our backs by taping them to the door?” asked Wade, a little teasingly. 

“If we've got something pressing, we'll leave notes in the drawers in the communal area,” replied Justin and smirked when he saw the look on Wade's face. “I'm just teasing. We don't need to, we just say we're gonna go chat and off we go. Maybe there's some reason though. Might be Cody's birthday or something, or Ted's just being clingy.” There was no suggestion that it was Ted's birthday, none of the units had birthdays as far as they knew. Or rather, it wasn't considered important that they knew when they were or celebrated them. 

“Just stick it to the door again and come inside,” said Wade, pushing the front door open. 

“No, I'd rather give it to Ted directly,” said Justin, looking over the picture again. “It already blew off the door once.”

“Is there something wrong with that picture?” asked Wade as they headed to their room, seeing that Justin was looking at the drawing once more, a frown on his face. 

“No,” said Justin. “It's just – I've seen a few of Evan's drawings before and this doesn't look much like them. Evan tends to use the soft pencils and he has more in the background as well, that's a part of the picture too if that makes any sense. This one, it's been done with heavier strokes than he usually uses. The background is all blurs and stuff, like he's supposed to be bringing more attention to Cody in the front. And the expression... I'm not sure it's a good look for a nice picture, y'know? He looks spooked. Kinda frightened.”

Wade looked over Justin's shoulder again, seeing what the man meant although he was a long way from any kind of art critic. “It's probably a sketch he threw away,” he said dismissively. “That's why it's not finished. Probably just doodling, got the face wrong, tossed it out, it ended up out here. Might've fallen out of the bin or something.”

“So why was it taped to the door?”

Wade rolled his eyes. “I have no idea. Just give it back to Ev later on, or to Cody or Ted.”

“I'll shove it under Ted's door,” said Justin, then let out a little chuckle. “Probably Ted saw Evan had thrown it out and flipped, even if it's not his best work. Then he put it on the door to pick up later on.”

“I don't want to wonder why Ted carries tape around with him.” Wade laughed to himself. “You take it upstairs, I'll make us a drink and maybe start on something to eat. Or maybe I should text the others and see it they want to grab take-out because if you wanna talk over tomorrow with them, we'll need to have some kind of meeting tonight. And let Alberto in on what you're planning.”

“Ug, you can do that part.” Justin smirked and went up to Ted and Cody's place, unfolding the picture one last time before he pushed it under the door. It wasn't a bad picture at all, but it was so different to what Evan usually did that it gave him pause, all stark lines and urgency rather than the attention to detail and shading that he usually favoured. Still, lots of people used lots of different styles and liked one over all others. Which didn't entirely explain the appearance of distress that seemed to be on Cody's face in the drawing. It was a little disquieting and Justin slipped it under the door, glad to be rid of it and wondering why Ted would want to keep it in the first place.

~::~ 

“I’ve just stood on something.”

“And here you have a go at me about killing spiders!” Cody protested with a small huff and stepped around Ted as the other stepped into the doorway some more and bent down to pick up whatever he had stood on.

“It’s not a living being, Cody, besides, spiders don’t hurt you.”

Cody snorted and muttered something about spiders the size of dinner plates that could take down a man about twenty times their size, but for once Ted wasn’t paying attention to him. He was scowling at a crumpled and slightly dirty piece of paper that he had plucked from the bottom of his shoe. Cody’s name was embossed on the front in writing that he didn’t recognise, and he didn’t know what unnerved him more: the fact that he didn’t recognise the writing or that Cody’s full name was on the front.

“Teddy? Baby? Are you going to shut the door?” Cody asked curiously and then paused as he noticed the item in Ted’s hand. They had just arrived back from that day’s training and were going to change and head downstairs to have takeout with their friends since Justin wanted to talk to them all about something. Cody suspected that it was to do with the upcoming operation but didn’t know why he’d want to talk to him, or the other handlers.

The blonde nudged the door closed with his foot almost automatically and then moved into the room, extending the paper out to Cody. Since it was just a folded piece of paper he knew there was nothing hidden within it but he wasn’t sure that he wanted Cody to open it.

“What--- My name? For me? Where was this?” Cody took the paper, apparently not thinking anything off about it. When he opened the picture though his face went white as a sheet and Ted snatched it without thinking, making Cody yelp even in his shock as he was given a paper-cut. Ordinarily even that tiny injury would have had Ted on his knees and begging for forgiveness as he lovingly bandaged it, but in that moment all he could see was the chaotic image on the paper.

Cody. His Cody. And he looked fucking terrified.

“Who would—“Cody started but Ted was already wrenching the door open and heading downstairs to Chris and Evan’s apartment. “Ted!” Cody yelped, scrambling after him and almost tripping over the gym bag that contained Ted’s change of clothing from when they left hand-to-hand to go shooting.

By the time Cody caught up to Ted he was hammering loud enough on their door to wake the dead, and when the door opened he almost ended up knocking on Chris’ chest… and the force that was being used could probably have caved in his chest. Chris looked both annoyed and confused and Evan appeared behind him, tense with expectation but then also confused when he saw that Ted was the one creating the ruckus. If ever someone was going to kick off in their little group… Well, he didn’t expect that it would be Ted.

The shock he felt increased though alongside rage when Ted suddenly strong-armed Chris aside, sending him careening into a nearby piece of furniture, backing Evan against the wall with a hand grabbing his throat, “You think this is funny?” he demanded, face a shocking shade of puce, “You’re making fun of me, is that it? You sick little bastard—“Evan ground his teeth, prying Ted’s hand off with some difficulty even in his own advanced state, Ted’s fingerprints already showing on his skin even though they would be gone before the confrontation was over.

“THEODORE STOP!” Cody’s voice seemed to echo around the room in panic as he wrenched Ted backwards, the blonde still shouting at the bemused Evan, Chris rushing to his side and checking on him before rounding on Ted and Cody and bellowing, “What the fuck is going on here?!”

Their screaming and shouting had drawn John and Randy, both men looking primed for a fight (and in Randy’s case unsurprisingly let down) when they realised that their friends weren’t being attacked… unless you count the fact that Ted had just attempted to attack Evan. Justin and Wade brought up the rear, Justin watching as Cody and John wrestled Ted back, the blonde throwing the picture at Evan who bent down in total confusion and picked it up.

“Hey—“Justin commented absently as he noticed what Evan was picking up, “It’s that picture we found outside.”

“A picture? Is someone naked?” John asked, wondering if a jokey nude-shot was what was causing such a furore.

“No!” Ted snapped, “That sicko there did a picture of Cody—”

Immediately the others crowded around to see what the image was of, although Cody remained right where he was because he wasn’t too sure whether he trusted Ted enough to let him go at that moment in time.

“I didn’t draw this!” Evan protested, looking upset that he would be implicated. “I don’t even use this sort of technique—damn it Ted! How many times have I drawn for you? And you think I’d do something like this? Look, it’s not even my handwriting!” and to prove it he found another scrap of paper and wrote Cody’s name down.

It was obvious to all present that even if Evan deliberately tried to change his handwriting that that wasn’t his.

“Justin, where did you find this?” Randy asked then, brow furrowed and a frown pulling around his lips.

“Outside,” Justin said, uncertain and a little uncomfortable because although he had thought the image weird he had never wanted to cause such an issue, and he felt guilty for assuming that Evan had been the one to draw it… but if he hadn’t, then who had? Evan was the only one with any artistic talent, Chris’ being restricted to hard-rock themed doodles that would look impressive on some rock-bands CD cover but not in an art-school forum or something.

“It was… Well, Wade and I saw that it must have been taped to the door, and we picked it up. I figured you’d just been larking around and had tried to get rid of it, but that Ted had maybe wanted to keep it…” he trailed off, apologetic, and though Evan looked decidedly upset he nodded in a manner that was obviously supposed to convey that he forgave the other. Whether he was going to forgive Ted was another matter though considering he had really jumped to conclusions on this one.

No one would truly know though, that that had been the same expression Cody had had that night he had had his nightmare, although his eyes had been closed then. Ted would never forget that expression as long as he lived.

“I don’t draw like this!” Evan repeated, clearly struggling to maintain himself from kicking off again, Chris’ hands rubbing at his shoulders and shooting Ted dirty looks. Ordinarily he’d never dream of it, and he knew he and Evan had been having issues recently and he understood Ted was upset, but that didn’t give him right to go around and start throwing accusations and verbal swipes the way he had.

“But then who left it?” Wade asked, ever the logical one. His hand was resting on the back of Justin’s neck because he had sensed the distress coming from the younger man at everyone fighting the way they had been. “Don’t look at me,” John held his hands up, “I can’t draw… And no offence Codes, if I was you wouldn’t be my first choice of model.”

Randy muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, “Damn right,” but was ignored.

“Did anyone check the security tapes?” Chris asked then, clearly trying to calm himself down since they didn’t need any more friction. Now, typically, a slightly dark picture shouldn’t have been enough to freak everyone out but the names of people who knew where their apartment block was, and who were inside, was limited to a handful of people… and none of them would do something like this.

“Let’s go,” Ted said immediately, still slightly red in the face and looking like he wanted to massacre someone as Cody chewed on his bottom lip agitatedly; this was a bad sign, he knew it.

All thoughts of food were driven from the minds of the men inside of the apartment complex as they headed down to the security point in the basement of the building, just near the garage.

~::~

“So… it was him? Are we sure?” Alberto was frowning darkly as he looked at the caped black and white image on screen, the logo of the hat having been identified as that of a pizza place when their techie Todd had done a little something-something and brought it up in greater detail. “That was the same one from then,” Randy said flatly and Cody shivered, knowing he hadn’t wanted to really acknowledge the truth in the notion that the bomber had somehow found them.

Found him, but more importantly everyone else.

“How did he find this place?” Christian demanded, a little upset because he had been the one to oversee the area being taken off of the map, and final security details. Of course Alberto had reviewed everything in his capacity as the boss and in general terms a man who thrived on control, but if it turned out something had gone wrong and it was his fault… even his lover wouldn’t be able to vouch for him too much, not in the face of the men present, or indeed anyone else. “It’s not on any maps and no one on the security clearance list would ever sell them out!”

“Who is authorised to know where we are?” John asked impatiently. He couldn’t help that though; when he got nervous he got impatient because he hated that helpless feeling that was currently coursing through him like poison in his very veins.

Alberto glanced at Ricardo who fumbled through some papers he held in hand before then reading the names out in his annoyingly snooty Hispanic voice, “You gentlemen, of course, Mr Del Rio, Mr Christian—“had Alberto not been stood there then no man in the room doubted that he would probably have spoken about Christian in a less than polite way, Alberto’s brush with a bombing not enough to have the pair burying the hatchet although Ricardo had at least toned down his dislike of Christian around the man’s presence when usually he didn’t bother, “Mr Mizanin, Mr Riley, Mr Danielson and Miss Kim. And Mr Grisham here of course, alongside Mr Kidd.”

“And none of you would have told anyone would you?” he levelled a pointed look at Todd as he spoke and the man held his hands up, “No way,” Tyson, his security partner also shook his head avidly, looking pissed off at the thought. Alberto didn’t move for several long moments, staring the two men down. Apparently he saw something that appeased him though because he nodded stiffly and then turned to look at Wade. “Miss Kim and Mr Danielson… you’d trust them with your life, yes?” he asked in clipped tones and Wade’s shoulders straightened up before responding.

“I trust those two. They would never betray me or the work that we’re doing,” he sounded so firm that Justin couldn’t help a small shiver of pleasure despite himself; the man was so hot when he got in control like he was. “I agree with Wade,” no one was likely shocked by that, but he had seen the way those two had looked after Mike when he had been injured, and he found it hard to believe that they would ever do anything like that.

“I’m inclined to agree,” Christian murmured, “Everyone on this level of project was vetted so thoroughly… No one who had even the smallest inclination to stray has ever been put on anything important—”

He was cut off as Alberto began speaking in rapid Spanish first to Ricardo, and then in rapid English to everyone else, mainly Todd and Tyson though, “I want the entire building searched from top to bottom for any foreign technologies. And their vehicles, including the communal one—“the aristocrat had no idea how prudent but too late that activity was going to prove to be.

“Is that really going to be enough? Clearly they already know where we are!” Ted was clearly agitated and he had a protective arm around Cody, completely uncaring as to who was seeing it.

“We need to move them somewhere else,” Christian agreed but then looked perplexed, “But where?” they had no buildings that were big enough to house them all, or that had the security they needed. Surely they could find somewhere but they would need at least two days before they could make the place secure and habitable enough for them.

“We will need to discuss this,” Alberto agreed with his lover, an arm around him tightly. Apparently he hadn’t ruled out that this attempt was anything less than one that had been made on his lover, clearly because of who was involved, although someone had to be pulling that man’s strings…

And he would bet his entire fortune and company that he knew exactly who the perpetrators were.

“We shall call you all in the morning, pack your things ready, keep out only what is necessary and that wasn’t here to begin with,” of course he meant the appliances that were supplied because they hadn’t brought those with them and could be transferred to the new place as needed. “You must stay together at all times. If you detect even the slightest hint of trouble—“this was directed more to the units than their equally wound up handlers, “Then I want you to take down. I don’t care how much force you use, but do it.”

He then frowned at Wade, “Maybe you should move in with Christian and myself until the operation and the party have passed.”

It wasn’t as though he didn’t hold as much value in the others, of course he did, but Wade was the all-important component and without him they had nothing. If Wade died the technology and knowledge he had went with him because there was only so much that could be recorded of taught to those who worked underneath him.

“Absolutely not,” Wade said, ignoring the small sound of protest Justin made; clearly he thought the extra protection would do Wade good. “I am going to stay here, and then in the morning I am going to operate on my patient. After that we will go wherever we have to go, but I’m not going anywhere until everyone else is with us.” The look on his face told Alberto that he wasn’t going to broke any arguments on the subject, and although Alberto admired the loyalty he was momentarily finding that it could have made itself known at a more opportune time.

“Si, I understand,” he muttered and then levelled Justin with a serious look, “Look after him.”

“Don’t worry,” Justin said, the darkness in his voice and determination twisting his face making him almost unrecognisable, “I’m not going to let anyone get near Wade. If they want to then they’ll have to go through me first. And I won’t go down easily.” His vicious smile made his angelic face look obscene.

~:~

Jeff was certain that he wasn't going to be able to take Wade by himself, and he was equally certain that the big Englishman wasn't going to go anywhere without a fight. And he had been a little arrogant when he left the picture for the men to find, not his best work at least but certainly a fair likeness. They'd probably be on their guard, wondering who had left it there and maybe there had been cameras that had caught his image. But that would be okay too, because he had no intentions of going back to the apartments again. Let them step up security at their home and watch out for him, let them find their little bug on the van. He had other ideas and he knew where Wade was going to be the next day.

Of course, Lauriniatis hit the roof when he found out where Jeff was intending to take Wade from. He ranted and raved while Jeff sat cross-legged on the man's desk, letting it wash over him, contemplating his plan. He was jerked from his thoughts when Lauriniatis slammed his hands on the edge of the desk, glaring as Jeff met his eyes. “Is there any reason we can't simply break in to the place we tracked him to?”

“A couple of very good ones,” replied Jeff cheerily. “There's other soldiers holed up in the same building and I suspect that at least one of them will be in bed with him should we choose to try to take him as he sleeps. And they'll be expecting something like that. They may already realise that we've tracked them to that location... in fact, I made sure of it.”

Lauriniatis turned an interesting shade of purple. “You did WHAT!”

“Chillax,” said Jeff, voice bored. “They'll be on edge, nervy, waiting for us to strike there. They won't think for a moment that we'd be so bold as to use the hospital. So they'll be tired after being up half the night, certainly Barrett will be tired after performing surgery. I think his guard will be down and it's likely that he'll be alone at least once.”

“He has his own team in place,” Lauriniatis pointed out.

“For specialist parts, yes. But not for everything. There's gonna be hospital staff all over the place and it'll be easy to blend in.”

“You blend in?”

Jeff chuckled. “No, not me. I have a team of my own y'know.”

Lauriniatis rubbed his forehead, as if he had a headache coming on. He seemed to do that a lot when Jeff was about. “We're supposed to be keeping this under wraps!” 

“I trust them,” said Jeff, as if that was the last word on the subject. As a matter of fact, as far as he was concerned it was. Lauriniatis wasn't likely to trust anyone that Jeff did, but he wasn't being left with much of a choice and Jeff had just as much to lose as he did, more so. He was the one who had set the bombs up. 

“You'd better not screw this up Hardy,” he said through gritted teeth. “You'd just better. I want the doctor in my custody and if you screw it up, then we're all finished.”

“If I screw it up, I don't get my muse.” Jeff stretched his legs out and let them dangle over the edge. “I really, really want my muse. You don't have to worry. You'll have all their plans for the weapon and they won't be able to do a thing about it.” Jeff grinned, made more unpleasant by the apparent lack of any kind of malice. “I guarantee it.”

~:~

Unsurprisingly, none of the units got much sleep that night. They agreed that they should take shifts in watching out over the place but there was no attack made. Even when they weren't on watch, they found themselves stalking around their apartments, on high alert. 

Cody woke to find that Ted had left the bed and got up to find him checking the locks, and he doubted it was the first time that night. “Ted,” he said softly. “It's Randy's turn to look out. Come to bed, or you'll be good for nothing tomorrow.”

There wasn't much else he could have said that would have gotten through to Ted but the thought of not being at a hundred per cent when Cody was in danger was one of them. Still, he hesitated and Cody touched his arm lightly. “What's wrong?”

“I shouldn't have done what I did to Evan today,” said Ted guiltily. “I should have known he wouldn't have drawn it. It doesn't even look like the others he's done. And I really shouldn't have freaked out like that, even if he had done it. It's just... the picture. It unnerved me. If the bomber did draw it, then he caught your expression well. Just not one that I ever want to see on your face.”

“Teddy.” Cody rubbed Ted's back, directly between the shoulder blades. “I know. I understand and I'll bet that Evan does too. He's just as protective over Chris as you are over me.”

“But it's not Chris who had some psycho doodling him,” replied Ted and then immediately looked contrite when Cody seemed a little stricken. “Although we don't know. If the drawing blew off the door, there might have been others. Or else he might have made others and just chosen that one for some reason.”

“Do you really believe that Ted?” asked Cody softly.

“It could be like that,” replied Ted, not answering the question. The truth was that he didn't believe that there were pictures of anyone else, not the handlers or the units. The more he looked at the picture, the more convinced he was that there was a familiarity and ease that suggested it wasn't the first drawing of Cody. And the expression – he knew in his heart that their bomber had decided to try to copy the look that Cody had worn when he thought he might die. And that made Ted's blood boil and filled him with fear. If this man was in love with that look, then would he try to recreate it?

Cody sighed. “Come back to bed,” he said. “We need to be fresh tomorrow.”

“Do you really think that you should be at the hospital?”

“I think it's a better idea than staying here.” Cody took Ted's hand and led him back to the bedroom, talking as he walked. “He knows where we live and you guys are gonna be keeping watch over Wade at the hospital. Better to be there then for us to split our resources. Easier to guard one place.”

“True that.” Ted shook his head and slipped into bed beside Cody, unable to shake the feeling that something was about to go wrong. 

~:~

Christian called first thing in the morning with the news that a bug had been found on the van, no doubt how they had been tracked back to where they were. Todd had not been able to find any record of the house on the internet and was certain that the only way they could have been found was to have been followed. It pissed Justin off, to know that had he not gotten complacent and checked the vehicle every single time they had been away from it, they might have been able to avoid all of this. And what was with the warning? He was on edge as they made their way to the hospital and he wasn't the only one. There was a tense silence and no one seemed especially willing to break it. 

Wade had already gotten permission for the rest of the group to sit in an unused room in the same wing as the operating room and the three handlers sat in there, the units dotted around the hospital. Evan, with his superior sight, was outside the hospital milling around and trying to look innocent, lighting cigarette after cigarette which he hoped no one would notice he wasn't smoking – Randy had been known to indulge but none of the other units did. Randy himself was dressed in scrubs and on the door just outside the room they were in, the worlds least likely and most threatening doctor. Ted was patrolling the wing, slightly more convincing in his own scrubs. And Justin was in the room with Wade as the man operated on the little girl with the appalling scars. 

“You think it'll take as long as the last time?” asked Cody as he played cards with John and Chris. 

“No,” said Chris, knowing full well that the 'last time' probably referred to when the units had been brought in, although it could just as easily refer to Mike, which had been pretty damned traumatic too. “He's not fighting to save her life, like before. He's just covering the burns. It might take a few hours but I don't think it'll be anything like as long as last time.” 

“It still feels like a long time though.” John played a card gloomily, none of them really trying to win the game. “I could do without it. I don't even know where we'll be staying tonight.”

“Hotel?” suggested Cody hopefully. He still had a child's delight at staying away from home.

“Maybe.” Chris shrugged. “Seems like a smart idea, but it's harder to keep security with a hotel, unless we take the whole floor or something. I think 'Berto's more likely to want us in the same set-up as we had. If there's anywhere to find of course.”

“Yeah.” John sighed, throwing down his cards and starting to build houses with them instead, not that anyone complained. They hadn't exactly been paying a lot of attention to the game as it was. 

“I sure wish they'd hurry up,” said Cody and in that respect, he spoke for all of them.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two: Extraordinarily Ordinary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An artist seeks his satisfaction and a ransom is made.

It took Wade nowhere near as long with Millie as it had done with the units or with Mike – of course, there were other advantages to this work that there hadn't been with his other operations. Millie was perfectly healthy and a whole lot smaller and that helped. He replaced her skin carefully, a photograph of how she had looked before kept in clear sight. It was getting easier, he mused, although it was still tiring. A stringent perfectionist at the best of times, he didn't want to let the child down. She needed this – and since she was going to be the one to showcase his breakthrough, he needed it too.

Finally it was done. He nodded at Gail and Daniel and allowed himself a grin beneath his mask. It had gone well, really well. Millie looked just as she had before the fire, although she hadn't gotten her hair back yet. That would take time, but she could go home with her aunt and uncle without being afraid of looking different. And no matter what the military possibilities of his work were, this was the main reason that he had gotten into medical research. 

They allowed a nurse to take the girl to recovery while they rid themselves of the scrubs and masks – Justin included, who had been in the room under the clothes, carrying enough weaponry to make anyone raise an eyebrow. Justin had to confess to not understanding much of the conversation as they walked down the corridor, but he couldn't feel left out when Wade's hand brushed against his too often to be an accident. 

“Coffee?” asked Gail, indicating toward a machine in the distance. 

“Nah, I'm going to have a quick word with the aunt and uncle, let them know it went well.” Wade frowned for a second and caught the arm of a passing nurse. “Do you happen to know where Millie's aunt and uncle are?”

“Room two-oh-two,” said the nurse brightly..

“Great.” The room was between them and the coffee machine, just past the man's room and Wade paused outside it. “You wanna get me some tea Justin?”

Justin nodded, understanding the subtext; Wade thought he should speak to the family alone rather than freak them out with his own personal bodyguard. He went with Gail and Daniel over to the machine and Wade watched them for a few minutes before letting himself in the room. 

He missed seeing Cody emerge from the men's room, stopping to straighten his shirt and giving Wade an interested look. 

Wade walked into the room, letting the door swing shut behind him and frowning. The family weren't where he had been told – perhaps they had expected him to be longer and had gone for something to eat? That seemed likely, although he knew it wasn't the behaviour of concerned relatives. It hardly mattered why, they simply weren't there. The room was a meeting room of sorts, a table and some chairs, a few windows discretely covered by blinds and a fire door leading straight onto the forecourt where the ambulances parked. Thoughtful. At least if there was an emergency, there would be a paramedic...

And he had no idea who that nurse was. How did she know who his patient was?

The thought had barely occurred to him when he felt something sharp stab him in the neck, accompanied by a pain that reminded him of a wasp sting he'd gotten as a boy. He put his hand to his neck, wondering how the hell a wasp had gotten in without being splattered by some nearby newspaper, and then realised his vision was blurring. He wasn't that tired and he wasn't allergic to wasp stings and--

His mind went off the tangent it was on when his legs gave way and he crashed to the floor, barely able to feel the impact as his six foot six frame landed. He struggled to stay awake, knowing that something was very, very wrong, but all he managed to do was keep his eyes open long enough to see boots heading toward him before he succumbed to unconsciousness. 

~:~

Cody could see Justin up ahead of him, waiting patiently for Gail to finish loading the coffee machine with what seemed like entirely pennies. He supposed that Wade had a reason for sending him off, but he didn't think it was very sensible. He himself wasn't happy about going anywhere without Ted today. 

He walked past the room on his way back to the one where the three of them had been sitting and waiting, frowning slightly when he heard an odd thump coming from within. Thump wasn't a sound he associated with post-op anything and he paused for a moment before throwing caution to the wind and pushing the door open. 

There was a paramedic in the middle of the room, who looked up in startlement as Cody entered. Cody barely registered him though. His eyes widened when he saw Wade lying on the floor and made what he would later realise was a fatal error, dashing in to help and allowing the door to swing shut behind him rather than going to tell Justin that there was something wrong with Wade. And in any case, this guy was a paramedic, not the bomber. He'd know that guy anywhere. 

“Is he okay?” 

The paramedic gave him a rather irritated look. “I think he's overworked,” he said coldly. “I'll make sure that he's well taken care of--”

The paramedics radio crackled into life. “My muse my muse!”

“Huh?” Cody thought he recognised the voice from somewhere, although it was hard to tell because of the quality. And what a weird thing to say, unless it was some kind of ambulance code. As he thought on it, looking at Wade's unmoving body, he decided it probably didn't mean a thing. Wade was the important thing and he should tell Justin that--

He looked back up at the paramedic and his jaw dropped as he saw the man was holding a gun on him. 

“You're not a paramedic!” It was a stupid observation but all he could think of to say.

“No shit.” The man sounded bored and Cody wondered if he could get away, if there was any way he could outrun a bullet. Although as it happened, the gun wasn't packed with bullets but with tranquilliser darts, a weapon typically used in prisons and asylums to control dangerous situations. But Cody wouldn't be able to tell a trank gun from a real one if he was shot with it – and less than a second later, that was just what happened. 

The paramedic watched him fall and then got onto his radio. “Bring around the ambulance. And I hope you realise, I need two stretchers now. Thanks for that, really.”

~::~ 

“Quit your whining,” Jeff dismissed Michael Cole with a bored tone, and then added pointedly, “And don’t hurt my muse!”

The radio on his belt crackled and Cole arched a brow, shaking his head slightly. Middle-aged and not really a face that stood out in the crowd he was perfect for Jeff when he needed some espionage like infiltration; Cole was so ordinary it was extraordinary and no one ever seemed to look twice at him. The man knew it and he played it to his advantage because although he might think Jeff was eccentric to the point of being mentally unstable he was paid handsomely and his work was never dull.

Moving across the room to where a fire-door was conveniently located Cole pushed it open and exhaled a small breath of relief when he realised it wasn’t alarmed—that seemed to be a feature now in most hospitals and it had caused him a headache and close-call a time or two before. Eying the men on the floor Cole decided he should get Wade out of there first; if someone came looking for that one, although he knew Wade, they would most likely be so concerned about him that they wouldn’t even realised Wade had gone until it was too late. And a little help with your escape plan never hurt anyone.

An ambulance pulled up out front of the door and the rear-doors popped open, a bleached-blonde man with another uniform with paramedic emblazoned across the back jumped out from the driver’s seat and moved around the back quickly, but as casually as possible. After all, it was bound to attract some notice if they were seen as taking people away from the hospital on stretchers.

“Took your time,” Cole groused the blonde pulling a face at the older man when he turned away, and not exactly bothering to school his expression in time when he turned back. Cole merely rolled his eyes and then muttered, “Lift it up,” and with that they managed to get the first stretcher out of the back of the ambulance and into the conference room.

Neither of their victims had moved and Cole was glad; Jeff had had their auto-genius/femme fatale Maria pinch the ambulance with a little bit of seduction and blackmail from an unsuspecting man in the parking-lot that morning and he hadn’t known what would be inside, and what he had used to knock them out had been Jeff’s own concoction… He supposed he was lucky that he hadn’t actually killed the pair with it since he had no idea what was in it or how strong it was.

Since Barrett was taller and more built than the surveillance photos they had of him suggested it took quite a bit for the pair to manipulate the unconscious man onto the stretcher; his immobile and heavy limbs were a struggle indeed. They managed eventually though and worked to get the stretcher into the back of the ambulance before repeating the process with the second man. Although tall and built in his own right he was much more svelte and therefore easier for the two men to move as they wanted. Slamming the doors after the pair (once they had double-checked they were securely strapped to the stretchers, although in this instance it wasn’t so much for their safety as to make sure they stayed out of trouble should they wake up prematurely) Cole and Dolph Ziggler clamoured into the ambulance and then drove away casual as you please. The open fire door was the only sign that something had gone amiss with the room, because all staff knew not to open the doors unless there was an emergency, and they certainly wouldn’t have left them open afterwards.

A visitor’s badge lay on the floor from where it had fallen from Cody’s jacket upon his landing on the floor as he had, neither of the ‘paramedics’ having noticed it in their attempt to get away.

~::~

Where was Wade?

Justin looked around, feeling a prickle of awareness down the back of his neck, skating down his spine in an icy caress that had his skin breaking out in goosebumps even though usually it took more sensation than that to cause his skin to react.

“Gail,” Justin stopped beside the Asian woman, trying hard not to freak-out in case Wade had just gone off somewhere or something. Gail smiled back, apparently missing the fact that Justin was trying not to let himself enter panic-mode. Across from him sat John and Chris with Daniel, and now the operation was over Evan, Ted and Randy had also all returned wearing their normal clothing. It didn’t immediately register with Justin that Wade wasn’t the only one missing from their little group.

“Something wrong Justin?”

“Where’s Wade?” he asked, the words coming out in more of a rush than he’d intended.

The woman looked perplexed a moment and then said, “I think he said something about going to see Millie’s family, maybe he’s still with them.”

“Do you know where they went?” he asked and she shook her head apologetically, admitting that she hadn’t been paying all that much attention to the number of the room the nurse had given him.

Trying not to let his impatience show Justin nodded and then headed across to the reception desk. The receptionist clearly remembered who he was because the middle-aged woman smiled and said, “How can I help you dear?” Justin wanted to roll his eyes at being called ‘dear’ (he wasn’t seven years old anymore) but he refrained because he knew she was just being nice and he didn’t want to offend. “I was looking for the room where Millie Hanson is recovering in. Dr Barrett went to see her parents and we got separated,” he offered his sweetest smile.

Like Evan he had the gift/curse of having a slight baby-face, which usually pissed him off greatly but right then it would most likely prove to be a help than a hindrance.

“Let’s see—“she tapped a few keys on her computer (a pretty ancient looking model considering how up-to-date most of the equipment in the hospital was) and then nodded, “Room 123 dear, first floor, down the end of the corridor.” Justin was off before she’d barely finished speaking, a hasty thanks leaving him before he located the stairs.

The bombing hadn’t made him leery of lifts or anything despite everything he just didn’t have the time to waste waiting for one and everyone knew that hospital lifts were notoriously slow. He made his way down to the first floor in record time and knocked on the door.

Inside Millie sat up in bed, smiling brightly and looking no worse for the wear—and Justin didn’t mean her repaired face. She didn’t look as though she had just been in several hours of major surgery. Her family also seemed happy, a little boy being present that hadn’t been there before but that Justin would know anywhere; the resemblance between the siblings was striking, even with Millie’s missing hair giving her a slightly odd appearance.

“Excuse me,” he said, forcing himself to slow down and act politely; he didn’t want to upset them during what was supposed to be a happy time after all. “Oh!” the woman recognised him and offered a brilliant, watery-eyed smile, “It’s Dr Barrett’s assistant—“Justin had no idea where she’d come up with that assumption but given that he had never been introduced to them except for his first name, and it offered a perfect cover, he wasn’t about to argue.

“I hope I’m not intruding,” he said lightly.

“Of course not! Come in, come in. We were just saying—Dr Barrett is a miracle worker!”

“That he is,” Justin agreed, shaking the ‘new father’s’ hand lightly in greeting. “I don’t mean to intrude, especially when you should be celebrating,” he smiled warmly at Millie, genuinely, and she grinned back toothily, much happier and more like a ‘normal’ child than she had been when he’d seen her not the day before, “—but I was just wondering if you could tell me where Dr Barrett went? We’re waiting to head off, he has more work to do, poor thing never stops,” he forced what he hoped was a playful, joking laugh, and although they laughed along with him the husband looked distinctly perplexed.

“Dr Barrett? We haven’t seen him since the surgery ended—“it took all of Justin’s willpower not to show facially or physically how those words had sent a ball of lead dropping down into his gut, “And we’ve been so looking forward to thanking him.”

“O-Oh, right!” Justin clapped a hand to his forehead, acting as though he’d just remembered something. “I bet he’s gone down to the break-room for a rest.”

“I can imagine it’s very tiring, doing what he does,” the wife soothed, and later Justin would feel bad for having not bothered with learning their names as opposed to memorising their faces, but right then their identities mattered little.

“Oh yes, very draining, but he loves his work and he loves helping people, so I think it’s worth it for him.” Even as he spoke Justin was edging back towards the door and tempering down the urge to make a run for it. He’d known something was wrong, and yet he’d stalled, not listening to his gut and assuming everything would be fine.

He hadn’t let his guard down exactly, but if something happened to Wade then he was going to be as liable, and feel as guilty, as if he hadn’t been bothered to watch him in the first place.

“When I find him I’ll be sure to send him up. Congratulations to you all, and make sure you get some rest kiddo,” he sent a big-brotherly type smile at her and she nodded, the family all smiling and waving as Justin vanished out of sight. A little trepidation had appeared on their faces but almost the second he was out of sight they seemed to forget, although he couldn’t blame them for that: they had faced enough bad news and tense situations to last anyone a lifetime, they deserved their fresh-start to attempt happiness.

Hitting the hallway at a run Justin all but flew down the stairs, skilled reflexes stopping him from crashing head-log into people. Had he attempted to run so quick in such a crowded place under other circumstances he had no doubt he would have injured someone.

Locating the place where the others were sat he skidded to a halt in front of them, doubling over momentarily as he tried to get his breath back; he might physically be in tip-top condition but he was close to panicking, furious with himself and whoever was responsible for Wade missing, as well as having just run down a lot of stairs. “Wade’s gone!” he hissed, barely managing to keep from shouting; shouting would get them nowhere and he didn’t want to alert anyone else to what was happening.

Under other circumstances the looks that greeted his words might have been slightly comical.

~::~

He ached everywhere, worse than the time he had slipped at the local swimming pool as a child and smashed his head off of the side. The scar on his forehead just off-centre was testament to the blow he had taken, and although he didn’t remember the incident too well or the immediate aftermath his mind felt as stuffy, filled with proverbial cotton, as it had back then.

Mewling softly Cody reluctantly forced his eyes open… and the first thing he realised was that he was half-naked, although his jeans had been undone and lowered almost to an obscene level. Had he been standing then there was every chance that the pants would have fallen down. Cody was initially so panicked by his state of undress that he didn’t even notice his surroundings, which seemed to be an abandoned warehouse of some description, or the fact that Wade was also bound to a chair some distance away from him. Unlike Cody though Wade was still fully clothed.

“Cody,” Cody jumped at the harsh, rasping voice that spoke, eyes darting around as his head moved so quickly he winced at the dull throb that resulted in his head. “Wade?” he asked hazily, although he could now see the other, though it was kind of hard to focus underneath the force of the lights overhead. Jeez, he’d hate to be the one responsible for paying the electricity in this place, because those had to be thousand-watt bulbs or something! Absently Cody was aware that he was ‘deflecting’ as Adam had once called it; allowing his mind to focus on a mundane and potentially illogical problem or thought to avoid having to face the reality of his situation, but he couldn’t help it in that moment.

He’d been through a lot, he’d seen a lot, but the fact that he had been knocked out, abducted, and, most importantly, left in a nauseatingly risqué form of undress, had Cody more frightened than anything he had ever experienced before.

And that included when he believed he was going to get blown to kingdom come.

“Oh good, I was beginning to think you pair of lazy bones were going to sleep forever!” a new, almost gleeful voice came suddenly from in the only patch of shadows in the room, interrupting anything more the pair might have said and Cody stiffened in the chair, Wade’s face immediately drawing into a tight frown as he noticed. The usually neat-as-a-pin Englishman was rumpled, hair mussed and even a little sweaty, as though he had spent all of his time since waking attempting to escape their predicament. Cody suddenly felt guilty that he had apparently been out longer than Wade, and that escape hadn’t even crossed his mind thanks to his panic.

“Who’s there?” Wade demanded firmly, and had it not been for the small quiver he’d noticed in Wade’s Adam’s apple bobbing up and down he would have thought that the other wasn’t frightened at all.

“An admirer, Dr,” when the figure stepped out of the shadows Cody gasped.

“You!”

The not-quite stranger grinned, looking like a child in a candy-shop. It took Wade a few moments longer, but then he too made the connection when the figure revealed bizarrely coloured hair after removing a rather plain looking baseball cap from his head. “The bomber,” he all but growled and the man bowed, “Please, call me Jeff. There should be no formality between friends should there?”

Cody snorted derisively, feeling his temper and panic mounting when ‘Jeff’ didn’t so much as flinch at the noise, continuing to smile as though all of his Christmases had come at once. “Friends? Friends don’t drug people and then abduct them! Friends don’t undress people and leave them in--- in some random place!”

“It isn’t random,” Jeff shrugged, “It’s perfect.”

Wade’s frown was still in place and he was eying Jeff with a weary watchfulness, “Why are we here?”

For a moment he didn’t think Jeff was going to respond to him because he moved further back into the warehouse, humming some jauntily distorted tune as he went, and then he returned with---

A painter’s easel and art supplies?

It didn’t take Cody long to put two and two together and he blanched, teeth grinding to hard he could feel sharp shooting pains through his gums, “You were the one who left that drawing of me.”

That got Wade’s attention and his body tensed, apparently now even more wary of Jeff than before, especially since the situation was so damned bizarre that nothing he had ever experienced in the past, military or medical training-wise would help him.

Jeff beamed at Cody as though he had offered him a great compliment when he had finished setting up—whatever he had been doing. “Correct! Did you like it? I tried very hard to get the likeness but of course that’s easier to do when you have the real thing…” he trailed off contemplatively and Cody sputtered.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You kidnapped me and Wade so you could draw us?”

Jeff frowned then, though whether it was because of Cody’s language or the fact he was not happy about the situation Wade couldn’t tell. “Of course not,” he looked disappointed, as though he had expected better from them, “You are here for me to draw, my lovely muse. I want to capture you, make you immortal in my art. The good doctor here has a meeting with my boss… who should be here later on when the office has closed.” His smile returned then and he picked up a paintbrush and dipped it into some paint before then declaring, “Plenty of time, so, what’s say we get started hm?”

~:~  
Justin was furious, terrified, close to freaking out. It was only his training and the knowledge that there were things he could do to stop a potentially bad situation from becoming worse that kept him from meltdown and even then, it was close. He took a few deep breaths, reminded himself that he was a unit and designed for this kind of thing (by Wade himself, although that was probably a very bad thing to consider) and checked out the startled faces in front of him. The handlers he all but dismissed out of hand, regardless of how good they were – when it came right down to it, they weren't made for this kind of thing and the units were. He barely noticed that they were a handler down, instead turning to Evan, Randy and Ted. “Did you see anything weird, anything at all?”

“Nothing,” said Randy immediately and Ted nodded, both men having been inside the building.

“Ev?”

“Not a thing that isn't usual for hospitals,” replied Evan. 

“Then where is he?” Justin ground his teeth for a moment. “We're gonna have to split up and find him. At least check that he didn't get called off to another part of the hospital...” He trailed off, wondering if that was the explanation, that Wade had walked into some kind of problem and offered his own help with it – except no, that couldn't be it. He had told Justin to get him tea and gone to speak to Millie's relatives, who had not seen him and Justin hadn't been that far away, barely out of sight for a moment. If there had been some kind of emergency or fuss then he probably would have seen something too, or Wade would have had to have gone past him. 

“We'll arrange to search this place,” said Randy, not saying anything about how Wade was probably safe and sound, something Justin was eternally grateful for. Right then, he didn't need to be calmed down, he needed action. 

“I wanna get Cody before we go anywhere,” added Ted. 

“He was only going to the bathroom,” said Chris. “He probably took a newspaper, got caught up with the gossip column.”

Ted didn't reply, merely went into the bathroom closest to where the handlers had been waiting for them. It was currently empty of people and Ted wouldn't have cared if it had been full of complete strangers at that point. The realisation struck him like a knife; it was empty of Cody. And he had promised he wouldn't go anywhere, something that Ted absolutely believed. He had been too insistent that morning and Cody knew just how much the drawing had frightened him. There was no way that Cody would get bored and wander off to the gift shop without alerting someone. 

He double checked every stall, bursting out and heading into the ladies next door. That wasn't empty but the shriek when he hoisted himself over the door wasn't from Cody and he all but ignored it. “Patient wandered off and I'm looking for them,” he said into the air as he checked the other cubicles. “It's a bit of an emergency, sorry ma'am.”

There was no one else there and he went out and into the third bathroom, the disabled, completely empty. By now the others had been alerted to his hurried, urgent hunt and run over to join him, crowding around the disabled toilet as Ted looked in and then turned to look at them. “Cody's gone.”

Chris shook his head. “But he only went to the bathroom--”

“How long ago?”

“It was a while,” admitted John. “But we thought he was just uh, y'know, movin' some serious mail and then Justin came up asking about Wade and we sorta forgot.”

“Even though Cody was the one on the picture?” Ted didn't give anyone a chance to reply, aware he was probably being a little unfair but he didn't actually give a shit right at that moment. Nothing mattered except finding Cody. And once he did, maybe finding Wade would become slightly more important than it seemed. 

Although that was clearly the more important thing to Justin because he looked slightly more grim since learning of Cody's disappearance but not as unnerved as Ted was, still stressing over Wade. 

“We've all been in the corridors, the rooms around here and this wing,” Randy pointed out. “Justin, you were practically on this spot when you last saw Wade and it's pretty certain that Cody was here. It's not likely they could have gotten far with us all around the place. Why don't we all check the rooms here, then if there's no sign we can split up and take the rest of the hospital?”

The other units nodded, that seemed about right and even if Wade knew the hospital a little and might have been able to slip past them, Cody didn't and it didn't seem likely. They started with the room next to where the handlers had sat through most of the operation, planning to head in the direction where Wade had last been seen. Down here the rooms were mostly offices and waiting rooms and that meant that at least they didn't disturb any patients but they didn't see any sign of Cody or Wade either... although when they got to room 202, there were some things that might not have seemed out of place to most people but were certainly strange. 

It was Ted who spied the pass on the floor first and barged into the room, picking it up and then checking the other handlers. “This is Cody's.”

John frowned. “You can't know that--”

“Yeah, I can. With us playing doctor, we didn't have to have the visitor badges, it was just you three. And Wade didn't need one because he's a doctor too. But you two are still wearing yours, that means this is Cody's.”

“It could have been dropped by anyone--”

“No, because this one's pink and that means security clearance, just like Wade told us. The usual ones are white and he said they would hardly ever give out the pink ones here because it's a civilian hospital. This hasn't been lying here for that long.”

There was no arguing with the logic and Randy checked out the rest of the room in a hurry. “Fire door's wide open, they could have gone out there for a talk or--”

Justin was already crossing the room, leaning out of the fire doors. “I don't think so. They're not there now and they're not in sight of here. Anyway, this is some kind of ambulance waiting area and it's a bit too busy and loud for a quiet chat.”

Randy nodded – it wasn't the A&E part but the ambulances still had to wait somewhere out of the way sometimes to transport patients, radio reports to base or should they be bringing in a patient who wasn't classified as an emergency. This seemed to be that area and there was an ambulance idling, one paramedic doing something in the back while the other leant on the open rear door, regaling some story about what had happened to him on Saturday night while he'd been working. It seemed to involve a copious amount of vomit, not that Justin was taking much notice of the chat. 

“Hey, scuse me,” he said, interrupting the paramedic. “Have you been waiting here long?”

The story teller shook his head. “Sorry. Two minutes or less.”

“Okay, thanks.” Justin pulled his head back in and shrugged at the others. “They won't have seen if Wade went out any earlier. And we know he couldn't have gone out in that time, he was missing before that.”

“You came back in the building through the doors over there,” Randy said suddenly, looking at Evan. “Did you see anything happening here?”

“Not really. Wait. There was an ambulance here but not an emergency one, those ones that just transport patients around? They were putting someone in the back.”

He became very aware of all eyes on him and shook his head. “I didn't see anyone. Just a couple of paramedics putting a stretcher in the back of the ambulance. I didn't get a look who was on the stretcher, it's a hospital.”

“Don't paramedics only drive the emergency vehicles?” asked Randy.

“I don't know!” Evan was starting to look distressed. “I was looking out for something strange or someone on our radar and not two men doing their job!”

“Ev, it's okay, it's exactly what we'd expect to see,” said Randy before Chris could jump in and defend his lover. “We're just trying to get a fix on what might have happened. If we stopped every ambulance for transporting patients then we'd have been thrown out of here in two minutes, Wade or no Wade.”

“Right now we have no Wade so can we figure out if he's gone?” asked Justin sharply. “Or if Cody's gone?”

“Safe to say that neither of them got past me or Ted inside,” replied Randy. “Cody's been in here. And there's only a small number of places they could realistically have been between leaving our sight and going missing. I'll bet whatever happened, they left together.”

“Why would they take Wade when they've been trying to get at Christian all this time?” asked Justin.

“We already know why, because they fucked that one up and still need to stop Wade from revealing his latest brainwave.” Randy glanced over at John, very, very glad that his own lover was still in the building and accounted for. 

“But taking Cody makes no sense,” added Ted. “And we knew there was the threat. That picture.”

“Yeah,” admitted Randy. “That doesn't make any sense. Unless the bomber is trying to remove witnesses. But then why take him? It's more of a problem that way.”

The two handlers were slightly taken aback to hear the blunt way he had put it, but Ted simply nodded. Of course, all of the units had those reserves they drew on when they went into work mode, a kind of cold, clinical detachment; great for the mission but a little disconcerting to see when one knew just how much they cared for the men they were searching for. 

“I don't know, but I don't like what I'm thinking.” Ted stood up, the visitors card still clutched between his fingers. “Can we track them?”

“Maybe,” said Evan. “But I'm not convinced their phones won't have been disposed off--”

“And Wade wouldn't have had his anyway,” Justin reminded them. “Not while he's operating.”

“Right,” said Randy, taking charge. “We might be able to get some security from here though, or one of the techs can get it for us. If we know for sure what we're looking for and who, then we might be able to track them. No way that funny-haired freak managed to walk around here unnoticed, so he might not have even been here. He'd know we were on the lookout for him. So it had to be someone else.”

There was a moments silence, no one wanting to mention that if they couldn't track whoever had walked out with Wade and Cody, there wasn't a whole lot more they could do to find them. 

“Um,” said Chris quietly. “Maybe if Wade's being held to ransom, we should hit up Alberto and tell him to get some money pulled together--”

The units looked at him as one, apparently rather surprised. “If they want a ransom, it's gonna be Wade's breakthrough,” said Justin. “And no way would Alberto hand that over, not without some kind of scheme. Screw that. I won't put Wade in danger so that asshole can make a few more million.”

“We keep this in-house for as long as we can,” added Randy. “After all, we're all pretty good at keeping our secrets.”

He turned to give the units a sweeping look and only just managed to keep his own face neutral when he saw Evan's guilty, rather furtive look. There was a boy who was keeping secrets of his own and unfortunately, now was not the time to call him out on them.

~:~

Wade was creeped out and he suspected the phrase creeped out might just be the understatement of the year. Jeff had almost completely ignored him, as if he was of no interest at all to the man, not that he was complaining about that little detail. Cody wasn't so lucky. From his vantage point he could see that Cody was shirtless and there was a good deal of his body on display. He couldn't see Cody's face but he could see Jeff's whenever the man emerged from behind his canvas to check the view. Jeff seemed delighted.

“It's so much easier to capture your expression when you're in front of me,” Jeff remarked conversationally. “That look of fury with the fear beneath – it's tough to get that when you're working from memory...”

He trailed off and Wade wondered why and why he had suddenly started pouting. 

“Cody, open your eyes.”

There was no response from Cody and Wade almost laughed. Apparently Cody had taken exception to that remark and would take his rebellion where he could get it. 

“Open your eyes Cody.”

Still nothing.

Jeff stood up and wandered over to Cody, leaning over him and speaking directly into his ear. Wade couldn't see Cody's expression but he could see how the man's body tensed still further. And he could hear what Jeff said. 

“If you don't open your eyes for me honey, I've still got Wade over there and we don't want anything to happen to him, do we? He won't be operating on anyone if someone breaks all his fingers and he's not in a position to argue right now.”

Wade narrowed his eyes at the implication and watched in silence as Jeff leaned back slightly, a wide smile coming over his face. “That's better! Let me see those baby blues.” He patted Cody's cheek twice, none too gently and then went back to his canvas. 

It was the last time that Jeff mentioned him, or even looked in his direction. He seemed engrossed but Wade didn't think for a moment he wouldn't notice if Wade were to somehow get free of his bonds – and he didn't think he was going to be able to. Not to mention he still felt a little groggy from whatever it was that they had been pumped full of. Usually the effects should have worn off before now but this seemed to be something new. Maybe even something dreamed up in Laurinitis's labs. He didn't like being a test subject on someone else's concoction. 

Justin had to be frantic by now. He had known from the start that he would be freaking out but he hadn't let himself think too much about it because it would serve no purpose other than to cloud his own mind. And that was the last thing he needed. But it struck him at odd moments, making him feel guilty and distressed. He didn't want to be the cause of any upset in his lover but how the hell was he supposed to have known anyone could take him from the hospital? And none of them had realised that the bomber had a thing for Cody, in spite of that creepy picture that had been left for them. 

He hoped very much that he wasn't carted off somewhere, not only because that would be bad for him but because he didn't think leaving Cody alone with Jeff was a good idea at all. Not that he would get a say in the matter... although perhaps, if he played his cards right, he would get more of a say than he thought. After all, they wanted something from him. Perhaps he could even get Cody to go free. It would be one less person for the units to come looking for, one less thing to go wrong and one less person for them to use as a bargaining chip, should it come to that. 

If they killed him, then it wouldn't make any difference to them. He had developed the skin and the eyes but now they had been made, they were relatively simple to copy (and by simple, he meant fiendishly difficult but a long way from impossible) and his research was there for anyone to follow up. But they didn't know that, or so it seemed. And more than that, if they found that out now then he and Cody didn't have a snowball's chance in hell, not with what had happened to them and what they now knew. They knew Jeff's name and there was a good chance that the cops would be able to link him to Lauriniatis somehow. 

So he was going to have to convince them that there was no way that the research was any good without him and that he was willing to hand it over to them for the price of his life, and Cody's. It would do them no good but if he could tell them that it would, it would at least buy them some time. He hoped. There was no other plan for them left though. He had no intention of dying at the hands of this maniac and he'd do anything he could to get home and back to Justin. 

He hoped Justin knew that. He also wished that when he'd implanted the units with radios, he'd done the same to the handlers, himself included. That would make life all kinds of easier for him right now. 

Wade had no idea how much time had gone past, no way of even guessing. It had been eight in the morning when he started operating, early to mid-afternoon when he had emerged and not much later that he was taken. He didn't know how long he'd been knocked out. All he knew was that they would both have been missed long since. And gauging time since he had been there wasn't easy. Watching Jeff paint Cody was boring and his constant worry rather tiring. 

He had known that it had to happen sooner or later but he was still taken by surprise, lulled into something like relaxation by the sheer lack of activity, when a door somewhere out of his sight crashed open. He and Cody both jumped, while Jeff didn't even seem to notice. 

A moment later Lauriniatis walked into view and Wade gritted his teeth. Along with him was another man that Wade didn't immediately recognise, some guy with a shit-eating grin and an honest-to-god Stetson on his head. A white one. Holy hell, he was in one of those soap operas they used to show in England on the channels his grandma watched, the ones where the characters had permanent tans and owned oil wells. 

“Doctor Barrett!” Lauriniatis beamed at him, on the surface looking as if he had exactly what he wanted, but beneath Wade thought he detected a little concern at the situation. “So glad you could join us.”

“I'm not exactly here of my own free will,” said Wade dryly. “You gonna let me go? Or are you worried I'm gonna beat the living shit outta you if I get my hands free?”

“That's a point,” said the other man and it suddenly clicked; Layfield, the one that had been working with Lauriniatis. Bollocks. “So we won't be letting your hands free right now. But it's very simple. All we want from you is information. And then you can go free.”

Wade shrugged. “I don't believe you.”

“Well, we might extend our hospitality until we're sure that it's the right time, but then you'll be free as a bird doctor, I guarantee it.”

Wade still didn't believe him. 

“We want the details of this weapon you've been working on,” said Lauriniatis bluntly. “And we want to make sure that no one can follow the work that you've done. So here's what's gonna happen. We'll be getting in touch with your bodyguard and he'll be going into your lab and getting everything we need. You'll tell him where to find any notes, you'll give him your passwords for the hard drive and he'll bring any samples. And then we'll let you go.”

“Uh-huh.” Wade didn't actually have a clue how Cody had come to be there with him, he was hoping that it was wrong place wrong time rather than something more sinister, but he didn't want to freak Cody out and he didn't want to draw attention to anything negative that might cause Cody to act before Wade had been given a chance to think. And maybe Cody was coming up with something himself. Wade was a former soldier and he knew he was smart, but Cody was military intelligence and he hadn't done at all badly for himself, his father only getting him so far before the young man did the rest all by himself. 

“After we realised that someone had been to the apartments, we moved,” said Wade. “You have no way of getting in touch with him. His number's in my phone and my phone's still at the hospital.”

“Right.” Layfield smirked. “We've arranged for a little delivery to be made to your old place. And you really think that they won't go back there, knowing that you're gone and that we know where it is?”

Of course they would, thought Wade in resignation. “What delivery?”

“A phone. We'll give some instructions, you'll give some details and then your bodyguard can bring us all we need.” Lauriniatis grinned. “And then we're all happy. You're alive, we have what we need.”

Cody tried to twist his head around, ignoring Jeff's sound of displeasure. “You're saying that if we help you steal Wade's work, you'll set us free?”

“Not you!” Jeff sounded angry for the first time.

Layfield shrugged. “Boy wanted a finder’s fee for the doctor and you're it. But hey! At least one of you can go home when all this is done.” He leaned closer to Wade. “You wanna go home to your little bodyguard, right?”

Wade growled, wishing that he could get an arm free and punch this guy right in the jaw, go on some kind of rampage and take down all three of them, get Cody out of there. He couldn't see Cody's face, but he knew what his own reaction to news like that would be and he didn't think Cody's would be different. 

He suspected they might just be in a lot of trouble.

~~::~~ 

Why was it always a little brown box?

John was the one who first approached the box on the doorstep, ignoring Randy’s hoarse and hasty command to back away from it. If it was there because of the reason he thought it was there then there was no reason to fear it. The box was innocently sitting there, unmarked by a stamp or any other indication of its contents or where it came from, unless you counted a separate card that had been stuck across the top. It was also plain in its pointedness, white card with stark, shiny black letters that spelled out:

To the Bodyguard.

Immediately his eyes went to Justin because it made sense that he had to be the one the sender of the box was referring to given that Wade had been the most likely target of the kidnap.

For all the natural tone to his skin Justin looked unhealthily pale as he plucked the box from John’s hands and then motioned for someone to unlock the front door, which Chris did with almost robotic motions, on auto-pilot almost. Justin went into the communal area since it was closest, they could all fit inside, and they would be protected from any outside noise or interference. Glancing around at the assembled men Justin found himself beginning to tear off the plain brown wrapping paper when he received a nod from Randy.

Had Wade been there then he would have been immediately compiling theories and thoughts on the exchange, but he wasn’t so it went largely unmissed--- Chris was too busy focused on Evan who had been unnaturally quiet even for the sombre situation since they left the hospital, but John noticed it because of the fact that he was standing just behind Randy and, well, nothing could take his attention from the younger man for long.

When Justin managed to get through the wrapping paper he was surprised, a little disappointed and oddly relieved when he saw that inside was a rather ancient looking mobile phone; he had been having horrible visions for a moment that he was going to open the (what looked like a bog-standard shoe-box underneath the wrapping) lid and find one of Wade’s fingers inside or something. Fanciful, but Justin had watched those Godfather movies and he knew that when men were backed into a desperate situation they would do anything that they had to do to remove any threats they encountered.

As Justin reached out to pick up the phone Randy suddenly caught his wrist, making everyone in the room tense. Justin’s challenging and furious expression melted into one of mild bewilderment though when he noticed that Randy was holding out a pair of latex rubber gloves to him. “You don’t want to leave fingerprints,” he murmured lowly and Justin nodded. No one wanted to break the mildly optimistic potential break by pointing out that the kidnappers would most likely have thought to cover their tracks that far at least. Snapping the gloves on Justin then unlocked the phone and checked the messages icon.

No messages were in either the sent or in boxes, and when he noticed that there wasn’t even so much has a draft contained within he knew that this meant that the phone was likely clean, or taken from an unsavoury source and wiped to the degree where they could get nothing off of it… and if they could then the chances were they would be led to the unsuspecting thid party whose phone it had been originally. Huffing a breath of annoyance Justin then moved to the phonebook icon and clicked.

There was only a single number contained therein and Justin’s lip curled.

Ths Boss? Really?

Pushing from his mind that he had sounded eerily like Mike for a moment Justin then glanced at the others and held a finger to his lips. Each man tensed immediately, eyes on the phone in hand. Justin pressed to dial the number and then placed the phone on speaker, glad that it wasn’t so old that it didn’t have that function contained therein. If he missed something that one of the others picked up then he would hate himself, but it would be worse if he missed something and they couldn’t hear because then none of them would know what could potentially turn out to be an impressive and necessary detail.

The phone rang.

And rang.

And then rang some more.

And just as Justin was getting to the pissed off stage where he was going to cancel the call someone finally answered. “Hello?”

Justin didn’t recognise the voice that well, but given the way that John and Chris had tensed with distasteful looks on their faces he supposed that they did. Later he could ask but right then he just had to focus on what was happening.

“Hello,” Justin responded and the voice on the other end of the line seemed gleeful, if weary, as though expecting that everything was going to plan but not completely stupid so as to think that something might go wrong.

“Is this the bodyguard?”

Justin glanced at Randy a moment and he nodded, Justin not even bothering to consider why he was be looking to him for deferation when there were two handlers there.

“Depends on whom you think I’m guarding.”

“Now don’ get smart with us son,” a second accent sounded and Justin’s brow furrowed, “We don’ appreciate bein’ taken for a ride. We wanna speak to Wade Barrett’s bodyguard. If you ain’t him then hand over to him. We’re not very patient men and the poor doc seems a bit tired… We wouldn’ wanna keep this drawn out longer than it should be.”

“Tired?” Justin repeated sharply, jaw clenching a little, “What did you do to him?”

“So it is you!” the first voice sounded again and Justin could have thrown the phone at the wall; he didn’t want to deal with a shite comedy duo who were obviously still working on their routine. “We haven’t done anything to him. We’re showing him the greatest hospitality. So long as he behaves, and you do what we want, we shouldn’t be having a problem.”

“What do you want?”

“We want you to listen carefully, because we won’t repeat ourselves.”

“I’m listening,” before Justin could even indicate for paper and a pen Evan had some at the ready, expression serious and pen already paused over the paper to write.

“We want everything Dr B has regarding his newest weapon. We want all of the paperwork, every image, every scrap of paper that is related to it. You know where his laptop is?” the second voice was speaking again now and Justin resisted the urge to roll his eyes because although he thought the two men were fucking stupid they did have Wade, and they had no way of knowing what they had access to there.

“Yes.”

“Good. Now, Dr B, be a good man—“there was a sound akin to a chair scraping over a concerete floor, the units wincing slightly at the sound even though it was muffled by the fact it was coming to them down the other end of the phone, “—and tell the little bodyguard the password. And the names of files too if it isn’t going to be obvious.” His tone suggested that he found the latter unlikely though, and he wouldn’t be wrong: Wade was notorious when it came to his organisation.

“Justin,” the low English rumble sounded and Justin felt relief flood him although he was a little concerned by the fact that Justin’s words slurred just slightly.

“Wade… Are you alright?” he forced himself to keep his voice light and neutral because he didn’t want to give the bastards who had kidnapped him the satisfaction of thinking that they had the upper-hand.

“I’m fine,” Wade responded, although Justin could tell he was itching to say something more, but clearly didn’t dare to given that he wasn’t alone. “The password is Barrett Barrage.”

“Barrett Barrage?” he heard one of the captors snicker before hushed by another.

“Wade… you want me to really get it all?” Even at the cost of Wade’s life Justin knew how important all of this was to him and… why did they think he was engineering a weapon anyway? There had been no indication at all that they were manufacturing a weapon.

“All of it Justin. They won’t let me and Cody go without it.”

Ted sucked in a harsh breath, Randy sending him a look that was telling him to calm himself. Mercifully the men on the other end of the line didn’t seem to notice. However, instead of one of the first two voices sounding a thid one called in the background:

“My muse isn’t going anywhere remember? It’s just the doctor.”

Ted ground his teeth, barely suppressing a growl as he heard Cody’s voice, faint even to his advanced ears, “Hey, what the hell are you doing? Stop that--!”

“Where do you want the items delivering to?” Justin asked hastily since he sensed that Ted was reaching breaking-point, and he wasn’t faring much better in all honesty.

“We’ll contact you again later tonight and tell you. You wait for us to call you. Don’t call us.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” he insisted, though why he was stalling he didn’t know.

“Check under the radio, Justin. Check under the radio for something I left behind.”

The words meant absolutely nothing to Justin, but John suddenly gained a look that suggested he had just had an epiphany, and Chris actually smacked himself silently on the forehead and mouthed something… something that Justin had the feeling he should be glad he couldn’t make out.

“Alright,” he said slowly, “Do I need to see G and D for anything else?”

“No… Everything should be on my desk in the apartment, or in my laptop.”

“Alright Wade. We’ll get everything together. Just… Sit tight yeah?”

The phone was moved away then, a single voice speaking this time, “Good man, we knew we could count on you. Now, you deliver and Dr B will be returned to you unharmed and everyone can go on as they were. No more issues, no more bombs… everything will calm down. We can coexist can’t we?” he sounded cheery now, deliriously so, as though he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that everything was happening the way he wanted it to.

“Oh, and one more thing—“he paused a moment and then added, “And don’t think about telling anyone else about this. Especially Del Rio.”

John’s face took on a look of understanding, acceptance and annoyance all at once, something Randy noticed and was determined to ask him about the second the phone was down.

“What?”

“You’re not a stupid guy don’t start acting it now. We’ll call you later. Bye bye now.”

The call ended and the line went dead, the irriating static noise sounding until Justin disconnected the call on his end too.

Silence descended amongst the group until Ted finally ground out, “What the hell do they mean they aren’t giving Cody back?” they couldn’t damn well keep him! It was illegal and he clearly wasn’t there on his own will…

“It doesn’t matter because we’re going to get him and Wade back,” Randy dismissed and then levelled John a look, “You know who they were don’t you?” he asked, not quite accusingly but in a tone that suggested he definitely wasn’t going to let them fob him off with an answer that they thought he wanted to hear. John removed the trademark cap from his head and ran a hand through his short hair before rubbing the back of his neck and then nodding, “Yeah, we know who they are. Laurinitus and Layfield. The guys that’re competing with ‘Berto over everything…” his eyes then went sad and angry all in one, “Layfield is the one who… the accident you were in—“accident was downplaying it majorly but that couldn’t be helped; they didn’t like to talk about the attack of their platoon that much. And none of them had ever expressed an interest to know in depth either.

“So that’s three strikes. I say we take him out.”

“I’m not disagreeing,” Ted all but growled and Chris wanly mused that the calm man almost looked like someone else entirely because of the way his face was twisted and his body was tensed. He looked like a wolf whose mate was being threatened and every fibre in his being was straining to eliminate the threat and rescue them. Justin didn’t look much better although he wasn’t chomping at the verbal bit to get going; it looked as though he was trying to wrap his mind around something before he started moving, although there was every chance that he was just composing himself. No one would have faulted him for needing a moment because none of them doubted that were they in his, or Ted’s situation, that they wouldn’t need to be doing the exact same things.

“What I don’t get though,” Evan murmured suddenly, eyes glancing down at the impressively covered sheet of paper wherein he had transcribed the entire conversation that had just taken place, “Is what Wade meant by a radio. I mean, I don’t really see him listen to music all that much, and why would he need to do anything with the radio?” It took everyone a moment to realise he meant like hiding valuables because the place they lived in was essentially impenetrable: shown by the fact that the bomber hadn’t even risked attempting the door even if he had dared try something on first.

“We know what he means,” Chris responded absently, he and John exchanging a look before they reached up as one and pressed against the backs of their necks, just above the spot midway between their shoulders blades, placing fingers against their lips as they did so to indicate quiet.

Had they not been silent then even the units would have missed the small crackle of a radio turning on.

Randy wasn’t the only one who looked incredulous, especially when Ted murmured, “Do you all have those?” and the two men nodded.

Chris turned his head and murmured, “Wade?”

Several tense seconds passed and then a quiet, low chuckle sounded, “Yeah… Glad you remembered this.”

“Almost didn’t if you hadn’t have said out… don’t suppose you stuck tracking devices in us did you?”

“Sadly, no, though I may do once we get out of here.”

“Just sit tight. Are you OK? Are they roughing you up? Cody?”

“We’re both alright, groggy as fuck and em, yeah, Cody’s fine.”

Ted didn’t like the tone Wade used, “What do you mean ‘fine’?” he asked only lowering his voice when the others sent him looks.

Even though he was all but whispering they could sense the discomfort in Wade’s voice, “Well, uh, he’s modelling at the moment.”

Thick silence descended amongst them again before John asked, “What the fuck?” which summed the groups’ feelings in one easy step.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three: Canvas After Canvas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff tries to wring every emotion he can from Cody, and excitedly speculates on the 'future' he may have with his muse. Wade considers the possible fate before him should help not arrive and the boys get the information wanted for the trade-off. Justin and the others then move to meet Layfield and Co for the exchange.

Wade sighed, his voice getting lower still and the group could only assume that with his task of assuring Justin he was there and giving the password done, he was being ignored. That was actually lucky for them and they were pretty sure that Wade wasn't about to complain either.

“Your mad bombers name is Jeff,” he said rapidly, his voice still quiet, a strain to hear. “I didn't get a last name but he has to be linked to Lauriniatis or Layfield somehow. My money's on the former judging by the things he's done so far and – well, doesn't matter. Cody came face to face to him, when he set off the explosive in the station, remember?”

As if they could ever forget. 

“I think he became a little obsessive about Cody. He wants to paint him. Over and over and over. His price for kidnapping me is apparently to keep Cody to paint him.” He sounded as incredulous as the rest of the group felt about this. “There doesn't seem to be any uh, lust, about it. I think he might have a few screws loose to be completely honest.”

“No shit,” growled John, glancing at Ted, who was actually shaking in rage. The assurance there was nothing sexual about it didn't seem to have comforted him and John wasn't at all surprised. “We're running out of time Wade. Any clue where you are?”

“None. I was out cold until we got here.”

“Right.” John sighed slightly. “We're gonna have to strong-arm this one by the sound of it. Meet 'em at the drop site and force the info.”

“If it works. I don't think they'll meet you themselves and they'll be on the hunt for a track--” 

Wade's voice cut off suddenly and John raised a hand for everyone to be silent. After a moment he nodded, hearing the sound of Wade's breathing and pressed a hand to the back of his neck again. “He's fine, must have someone in earshot,” he said tersely. “There must be some way we can track that laptop and paperwork.”

“You could track me,” said Justin. “I'll have to go with them to pick Wade up.”

“Two problems,” said Randy. “They'll be expecting that and who's to say that they'll take you to where they have Wade? They'd be more likely to arrange a drop without him.”

“Three problems,” added Chris. “They've spoken to us in person and shown their faces to Wade. That doesn't sound like they'll be letting him go any time soon to me. Or at all.”

“Then I'll have to set something up,” said Justin determinedly. “Perhaps I can uh, add a new password to the laptop and say that I won't be giving it to them without seeing Wade first?”

“Not a bad idea,” said Randy thoughtfully. “Of course, they'll have hackers of their own. But perhaps we can add in a little disclaimer of our own just like that one. That you won't hand the laptop over until you've seen Wade with your own eyes. Tell 'em you're not a trusting soul.”

“When it comes to them, I'm not.”

Evan shook his head. “But they'll know that you're not likely to hand over the info without Wade. I'd think it's more likely they'll have a drop site that they'll take Wade to and then do the swap there. And then not let you leave it.”

Randy glanced at him. “You've got a point.” He sighed. “Why is nothing ever easy?”

“Nothing worth having ever is,” replied Evan with a smirk. “We have to think about this in a different way, utilise our specialities. Somehow we have to have Wade handed to Justin and perhaps – well, I don't know. We have to get them away without them being killed and get the guys meeting him to go back to where they're supposed to hand over the money. Because I don't think the big boss will risk it and I'm pretty sure that Jeff thinks that his muse is more important than meeting with us. Sorry Ted.”

“Good point.” Randy scratched at his chin thoughtfully. “Right. They'll suspect that the laptop or the papers might have a bug in them and I think we should oblige them. Make it tough to find but not too tough. And Ev, you'll be skulking around in the background while Justin makes the drop. Your eyes are better, you're sneaky. And I don't think they'll be walking to the drop point.”

“We bug the car they're in and let them think they've disposed of the bug?” Ted nodded. “I like it. We can trace them to where Cody is from that.”

Chris and John were starting to feel a little superfluous to requirements, even though the planning of this kind was supposed to be something the units excelled at and were able to carry through. And although neither one of them would admit it to one another or their lovers, they were a little disturbed at how well Randy and Evan worked together. 

“That just leaves how we're supposed to get Wade out of there without him being shot and without them realising that he hasn't been killed,” said Justin frustratedly. “Because if you're right, and I don't doubt you are, then it's going to be hard work. Even if we just vanish, won't that alert them to something going wrong and mean that they don't go back to meet Cody?”

Ted gave a malevolent smirk that looked completely out of place on his handsome face. “Who says they'll have any choice but to go straight to their boss?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that we attack. Screw it. If we terminate one of them – you know there's gonna be at least two – and only leave one of them, maimed and without his phone, he'll go straight to the boss. And the boss is likely to be where they left Cody just in case something goes wrong. All we have to do is follow him there--”

“And warn them all that we're on our way, give them the option of using Cody as a shield?” Randy raised an eyebrow. “Let's not rule it out but if we go that way, we've gotta be tight and I'd rather have the element of surprise.”

“Sarge, all I need to know is where Cody is and I can deal with taking down the enemy. Count on it.”

John and Chris exchanged glances. It might not be important, but neither of them remembered any of the units referring to Randy by his military standing before. 

“Let's go over our other options,” said Randy, apparently not noticing the epithet. “And quickly. Because we need to get those files out of the laptop before we get a call back from those happy assholes.”

~:~

Wade had found quite by accident that he could activate the comm on his neck by rolling his shoulders in a certain way and although he hadn't intended it, he was glad of it now. The action made him look like he was stiff and given that he had been tied to the chair for hours on end, it was logical he would be. Actually, no one was taking much notice of him at all, which was mildly annoying. He was used to being the centre of attention thanks to his work, or in strangers it was his sheer size that attracted attention. Being ignored was new. 

He was just glad he wasn't in Cody's position. Jeff had abandoned his canvas for a sketchpad and was sitting directly opposite Cody, occasionally shooting out a question or a comment. Then he would draw some more, flip the page, speak again. If Wade had to guess he would have said that Jeff was trying to raise certain emotions in Cody in order to get the pictures he wanted. It made sense that Cody would be the one he wanted if that was his plan. Cody wore his emotions on his face, no matter how much he tried to hide them. 

Although when Ted heard about this... well, he had already killed once, without remorse, someone he had no grudge against. This time it was personal and the blonde might just strangle Jeff with his own rainbow-coloured hair. 

Cody had to be exhausted himself, not to mention far more scared than Wade was and Wade wished they had a moment to speak alone, so that he could tell Cody to keep the faith. Their boys were tough, they were improved and it was just as well that they were if either one of them wanted to get out of this alive. 

Cody's jeans had been shoved down so far by this time that they showed the top of his pubic bone and if he stood, they'd probably fall off. Jeff had played with his hair once or twice, making some murmurs of how they'd have to let it grow out and then delighting in the panic in Cody's eyes that he hadn't been able to hide when he thought of staying long enough for that to happen. Wade wanted to tell Cody that Jeff would have to rest and eat at some point but he didn't want to say it out loud when people could hear because that would probably spur Jeff on to keep going longer than he would have done. Still, Cody was bright enough to realise a few things for himself and Wade just hoped that he'd be able to keep his head. In the same position, Wade wasn't sure he'd be able to.   
Lauriniatis and Layfield had both headed off to some other room. If Wade had to guess again, he would have suspected that the building was some kind of warehouse and there was some kind of slightly more comfortable office or staff room, with a television or radio or something. It didn't seem to have been used for a while but it didn't seem disused either and he remembered what he'd learned lately about Layfield and his real estate empire. More than likely this was one of the places that McMahon turned a blind eye to, where he did some of his less salubrious deals. Maybe even where Lauriniatis had done a deal or exchanged some merchandise, maybe even the bomb that had blown Mike half-way to hell. 

If he got loose from these bonds, he was going to show them a Barrett Barrage. He would quite happily tear through every single one of them. In his army days he had done quite a lot of bare-knuckle boxing and although that was a no-no for a doctor, he had always argued that he wasn't that kind of doctor and he wasn't so bothered as such about taking perfect care of his hands. He didn't think they knew that about him, judging by the comment Jeff had made about breaking his fingers, and wouldn't they all be surprised when he got his hands on them?

He lost himself in a pleasant daydream about pounding Layfield's botoxed face into a pulp, occasionally listening in to what Jeff had to say to Cody in case it turned out to be important. But mostly it seemed to be a reason to get a reaction from the man.

“Remember when we first met? And I told you I was gonna blow us both up so we could be together when we died?”

“How does it feel, to be immortalised through my drawings?”

“Think of a puppy!”

That one at least didn't seem to get the right reaction because although Wade couldn't see Cody's face, he could see Jeff's and it creased into a deep frown. Wade imagined that Cody had the same expression he did, deep incredulity. No matter what opinions people had about dogs, they weren't likely to evoke much of a reaction in this setting.

“Who's Ted?”

Wade managed to jolt himself from his daydream and listen in carefully, while Cody's head suddenly jerked up and he glared at Jeff venomously. “What do you know about anything?”

Jeff beamed and didn't say a thing, looking from Cody to his paper, pencil flying over the page. Both men were starting to relax when twenty minutes later, Jeff picked up the conversation as if there had been no pause, turning the page and poising his pencil above the blank page. 

“You were talking to him on your bluetooth, when we first met. Don't you remember? I'm pretty sure he was shouting at you.”

Cody stared for a moment and then made a lunge, pulling the chair across the floor several inches before he was unable to go much further. “I'm going to kill you,” he snarled at Jeff. 

“Rage,” said Jeff blissfully, staring at Cody for a second before starting to draw again. Cody growled, trying to change his expression and finding himself unable. He was tired, he was scared, he wanted a glass of water, he wanted to curl up with his lover and have all this over with... he just didn't want to be there any more, tied up while a crazy man drew his every negative emotion. He wanted out. He wanted that more than anything. But there was no way he was giving this crazy bastard the satisfaction of knowing he was at the end of his tether. 

He leaned back, trying to tap into some inner calm, wondering if it was possible to even meditate or something in these circumstances. Then again, why not? It wasn't as if Jeff was very chatty while he drew and all he had to do was distract himself – although given how Jeff was drawing him, he needed to remember not to remember some of the things that he and Ted did together. If he got hard now, he'd probably have to lose the jeans altogether and he'd be humiliated still further as Jeff did some kind of nude portrait shit.   
Instead he decided to recall how he and Ted had acted together in those first few weeks together. How Ted had looked out for him, taking Alex down when he had dropped Cody to the mat, how he had seemed so shy and yet so determined to keep Cody safe... a small smile played over his face as he let his mind take him out of the warehouse. 

“No, that's no good!” Jeff didn't sound pleased at all. “I haven't finished drawing you angry yet!”

Cody shrugged slightly, trying to block Jeff out as he thought about taking Ted shopping and how he hadn't really seemed that enthralled in anything except the picture he'd bought, but happy to be there because Cody was there and they were out and about like normal couples did. 

Jeff made a disgusted noise. “Tell me more about Ted,” he said, but he suddenly didn't sound as pleased with himself as he had done.

“No.” Cody continued trying to block things out, thinking about happier times. He might have to give Jeff what he wanted in the end, but he was going to make the bastard work for it.

Jeff pouted, staring at Cody and then his drawing. “Fine. That's just fine. Don't think I won't get another chance for this one and the moment's gone. I'm hungry.”

He stood up and started to head off, before Cody cleared his throat. “Any chance of a drink? For both of us? We've been here a long while. And you want us healthy.”

“I want you healthy.” Jeff considered it. “Okay. Both of you can have some water. But only because you're supposed to be working with me here. You should be pleased! I haven't had such a good muse in such a long time...” He sighed a little and reached for the water bottle he'd been intermittently swigging on, going over to Cody and allowing him a little before doing the same for Wade, tilting the bottle to control how much they got. It wasn't nearly enough but it was an improvement on the dry throats they'd both had before it. Without another word, Jeff, capped the bottle and headed off out of their sight. After a few moments, they both heard a door open and close somewhere in the distance.

“They might still be listening,” said Wade urgently, before Cody could speak. “Just be careful.”

“Right.” Cody tugged at his bonds a little, something he had been reluctant to do under Jeff's scrutiny. “But now they know that we know that they've been listening in.”

“Better that than talk too much.” Wade shook his head a little, wishing they had some kind of code they could talk in. Had it been him and Justin he could have made himself understood more but not so much with Cody. “Keep your head up. You'll get out of here and it'll be fine. And they might not be listening in. How're your ropes?”

“Can't get any give in 'em. Yours?”

“Tight as a gnats twat. I'm not going anywhere and I've been trying for hours.” Wade sighed. “Just a few minutes with my hands free and I could have us out of here, but not as tight as these are right now.”

“What do you think our chances are?”

“Yours aren't so bad. Ted'll never give up looking for you and the boy's resourceful.”

“And you?”

“They only want information out of me. Once they have it, I won't see another morning.”

Cody winced. “There must be something we can do.”

“If there is, I haven't seen it yet – but if you get an opening, take it. Let's not just sit around here waiting for them to let us go with a pat on the head. The stakes are too high.”

Cody thought of what could happen, Wade dead, Lauriniatis with control over Wade's hard work to do with as he would and himself captive of a crazy man who wanted to keep him as some life-sized doll. He was with Wade on this one. Any opening at all and he was going to do whatever he could to get them both out of here alive. 

Wade shifted a little more. “How did you end up here anyway? I thought you were safe in the visitors room with the others.”

“I went to the bathroom,” Cody said, wishing more than ever that he hadn't chosen to drink so much of the piss-weak vending machine coffee as they waited. Who could have known what it would lead to? “And I saw you going into the room next to it. I kinda thought you'd all gone in there or something and I lingered a moment, except I heard something and went in. You were down and there was a paramedic right there looking after you. That's what I thought at first but then someone, Jeff, was on his radio shouting about a muse. And then he got me with one of those trank guns the cops sometimes use at riots.”

“Yeah, those.” Wade rolled his eyes. “I've never known the tranks they usually use to cause quite so much disorientation and grogginess before... you saw the paramedic?”

“Sure I did. Didn't you?”

“Nope. I was out of things, I just walked in the room and didn't see anyone at all. Wait.” Wade made some uncomfortable looking motion with his shoulders and neck. “Hear me?”

“Well, yeah,” said Cody, slightly mystified. 

He looked over at Wade, who winked at him, much to Cody's minor confusion. Still, there had to be some reason and he was best to just go along with it. Wade paused for a moment and then spoke again. “Codes? What does the paramedic look like?”

“Uh, oldish. Maybe late thirties, early forties? White. Brown hair. Completely ordinary.” Cody frowned. “There was nothing to put him out of a crowd of people with the same description. I just saw the uniform and didn't think much about what he looked like really.”

Wade repeated back what Cody had said and Cody agreed, suddenly wondering if Wade was doing it to clarify or if there was another reason. He had forgotten about the comms in their necks until that moment, but he couldn't manage to get to his with his hands bound. He had no idea if Wade had left his on or something but there was a chance they were giving their friends added warning and that was not to be sneezed at.

“There must have been more than one of them, because you don't make it sound like he could carry my fat arse alone.” Wade was musing but Cody nodded then affirmative anyway. He didn't think the paramedic would have been able to get Wade up into a waiting vehicle of any kind without some help. “And there should have been two anyway to be professional, one to drive and one to watch out. But there was no sign when we woke up here. So we know what one of them looks like, the other could be anyone. It's something to look out for.”

“What makes you think it's important?” asked Cody. 

Wade raised his eyebrows. “Just because I think we'll be split up when it comes down to getting the information from Justin and it might help if we recognise some of what we're up against.”

“Split up?” asked Cody with a feeling of dread. It was bad enough now, but at least Wade's presence meant Jeff was reined in a little more. 

“Don't worry about it,” said Wade quietly. “If I have my way, it won't be for too long.”

~::~

It had been quite a lengthy process even with Wade giving them the password, and Justin supposed it was lucky that Evan was quite as techno-savvy as he was because even he couldn’t have managed to find all that he thought they may need on his own.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t get in touch with Daniel and Gail? Just in case there’s something they have that’s crucial for it?”

“Too risky,” Evan responded to Chris’ question, eyes not looking up from the screen before him as he indicated something and Justin pressed a few keys before the printer across the room whirred and clicked to life, the dah-dah-dum beeping sound that accompanied a page being printed echoing throughout the room as page after page spewed forth, piling up momentarily until Ted plucked the fresh pages from the waiting tray and then placed them inside of a cardboard folder wallet like teachers used to use to carry pupils’ work in in bulk so they didn’t mix classes up and suchlike.

“Why?” Chris asked, frowning softly as he thought to himself that Evan looked pretty damn sexy when he was concentrating so hard… and the cute little subconscious motion he made as though to push a pair of glasses further up his nose was adorably endearing. Chris wondered if he even remembered the fact that he wore glasses, and then reminded himself that Evan didn’t seem to realise that he was doing it, so he probably didn’t.

“Because the more people that know Wade is missing the greater the liability,” Randy responded before Evan could, the smaller man sending him a brief smile which Randy returned for mere seconds before going serious once more, completely missing the way Chris and John both tensed just that little bit. Ted was deliberately focusing on the monotony of the printer to keep himself from freaking out and Justin had the laptop to concentrate on for the same reasons so they both missed the exchange too. “I know they work in-house so to speak but even they can’t know; they may jeopordise the whole mission out of some misguided and not unfounded desire to help, and we don’t need anymore potential casualties or chances of compromise.”

If he hadn’t known that Randy was in the military before there was no mistaking it in Randy’s tone the way he was talking then, and a small part of John felt momentarily nostalgic before he shook it off; he needed to focus otherwise he could end up becoming a liability as well. And although he knew he would never forgive himself if he was the reason something went wrong in this situation he knew deep down in his heart of hearts that it would be Randy’s disappointment that would crush him the absolute most.

“That’s all of it,” Justin’s final comment cut through John’s thoughts and he forced himself back into the moment, seeing a final crisp sheet of paper being tucked into the folder before Randy closed it, placing a bit of sellotape over the flap to keep it down. Chris looked momentarily confused before then glancing around at the units, “Hadn’t you said something about bugging it?” he asked confusedly; he hadn’t seen them do anything of the sort.

“We have.”

Chris was relieved when John looked at them as though they were making fun of them.

A ghost of a smile appeared over Justin’s lips although it didn’t come close to meeting his eyes, “We used micro-bugs. There are several on the pages wherein we think their interest will be most focused… we’re going to give them the laptop too, remember? We’ve added the second password. They won’t know that the papers there are the entirety of what’s on here and they’ll want into the system… this will allow us to get to Wade.” He shrugged, “We’ve put an obvious bug inside of the folder and there’ll be one inside of the laptop case. Lucky really that they won’t be able to remove my comm because then you can hear every word they, or I, say. I’ll undoubtedly be frisked though so we can’t risk letting me carry weapons.”

John was slightly perplexed at that because although Justin was resilient and more than proficient in hand-to-hand he didn’t stand a chance should someone pull a gun on him and aim it in either of his eyes or the back of his head. Those were the most vulnerable areas on any of their units, because their brains had been untouched and were therefore the same original potentially vulnerable and sacrosanct mess of nerves and tissue that they had been to start with… and even a reinforced skull-plate couldn’t save you if the bullet touched your brain.

Wade might have managed to help Josh’s boyfriend out of his gun-related coma but even the man himself had admitted that there was probably less he could do when it came to the mind as opposed to the body… Technology may have advanced but he couldn’t play God, he had insisted one time when he remembered Cody had been waxing poetic about the extent to which Wade could manipulate and change a human being given the right motivation.

Thinking about God made John sigh slightly then as he watched the units setting up the block on the laptop and then adjusting the folder with the papers in and running down with Justin what they were going to down when the drop came, wherever it was going to be, because he found it hard to believe that God could create people who would drug, kidnap and threaten people just because they could, because they were greedy, jealous and incompetent. It was enough to make his stomach turn when he tried to think about it in too much detail, even though he couldn’t honestly say he was the most devout of Christians.

“So, that’s the plan. You cool with that John?”

John blinked a few times, cheeks colouring slightly when he realised everyone was looking at him and he only had the vaguest idea of what was said, “Ye-Yeah, cool with me.”

Randy looked mildly uncertain but then Ted cut in, “I think John should go with me and Chris should go with Randy.”

“What?” Randy and Chris spoke at once, Evan and John both stunned into surprised silence. Ted however looked completely unmoved by their responses.

Justin then nodded, brow furrowed in thought, “That might work,” when he was met with the same querying looks that Ted had received Justin rolled his eyes, “You need to keep focused on the job,” he paused a moment and then added in a tone that was wholly neutral and not in the least bit jealous, “And how focused are you going to be if you’re worried about your own lover as opposed to just a team-mate?” he requested of the four men in question.

“Besides, Evan’s going to be otherwise engaged so it’s not as though you could go with him anyway,” Ted pointed out and Chris supposed he had to concede that point; Evan did have another job to do for them.

“Fine, whatever,” Chris exhaled with a small shrug, clearly trying to hide the fact that he was discomforted about the prospect of being away from Evan when there was a chance that everything should go to hell in this merger should they put so much as a toe wrong.

They all fell silent in a collective movement of unease and adrenaline fuelled readiness as the mobile phone sitting innocuously besides the laptop began to ring blaringly once more, the LCD screen flashing, mocking them with the unnamed number within.

~::~

"It’s getting late,” Jeff hummed slightly as he adjusted a fresh canvas before him, this time holding something that looked like a piece of charcoal. Given what he had seen the man using to draw Cody already Wade was slightly surprised to see something rather contemporary looking that lacked colour… the bomber seemed all about the colour.

“I’m hardly going to look my best if you leave me sat up half naked in here all night,” Cody muttered with some petulance and clear weariness, and Jeff seemed to pause a moment as though he had been given some serious food for thought. Wade still stood by his original assessment; although there was clearly nothing sexual motivating the man using Cody as his apparent life’s work in art, he was definitely a few screws loose of a working machine.

The doctor in him was slightly concerned, aware of what someone with mental instabilities could be like if pushed the wrong way… and he had already demonstrated that he could get a little testy if Cody didn’t do what he wanted.

Granted there had been no indications of violence thus far towards either of them aside from the verbal threat earlier, Wade wasn’t stupid enough to believe that neither Laurinitus or Layfield might decide to get a little ballsy and take a few shots just because it would assuage their egos and their quarries were bound and helpless and it would make them feel like big men. That was just the type of men they were… and Jeff had already cheerily declared that he would blow himself and Cody up so that they could keep one another company in death, and he had already caused the mutilation and near death of Mike, as well as the injuries to Alberto. Somehow, given the sheer lack of consideration or compassion he had concerning human life, Wade doubted that he would think twice about throwing himself head-long into danger… or into throwing a punch or another physical outlet of some kind. A mild-mannered eccentric he might seem when you merely looked at him, but when you knew what lay beneath it was a totally different matter then.

“Well, Wade here might be gone by then—“Wade didn’t like to think what the might possibly alluded to even though he had already discussed the probability with Cody prior, “—so I assume that means you and I can get out of here. Oh, just wait until I get you to my studio… I can really get started then!” he clapped his hands together and actually bounced on the spot, acting like a child who was completely and utterly thrilled by the prospect of further testing the limits of some new toy they had to play with whilst the novelty was at its peak. Cody paled slightly and Wade couldn’t blame him one bit; Jeff seemed happier at that prospect than he had so far, and that was saying something where Cody was concerned.

“What… What do you mean?” Cody’s tongue flicked out to wet his lips and Wade noticed that the lisp he usually subconsciously attempted to suppress was becoming thicker with each second, the pulse in his throat apparent for a moment even from Wade’s vantage point quite a distance away from him. All in all he was holding himself down admirably well after earlier on, but he couldn’t blank himself down completely, that just wasn’t in Cody’s nature.

And Jeff seemed to be thriving upon it.

“Aww,” he cooed, picking up another piece of charcoal (Wade wondered how long had passed since they had started this latest interaction, because the first piece of charcoal he used was being tossed across the room as little more than a useless stub the next thing he was aware of) before beginning to add some more to the portrait he was working on, “You look so frightened by the prospect. Don’t worry; given what I’ve figured out about you I can safely say I think you’ll enjoy it.” Cody’s jaw tensed and a muscle ticked in his cheek even though a little more colour drained out of his pallor; that was ominous and creepy enough to make even the hair on the back of Wade’s neck stand up. Appealing to Jeff’s morals would clearly do no good, and pointing out the legal ramifications of kidnap and holding someone hostage was likely to have the man laughing in his face.

Shaking his head slightly and mentally wishing he could move his wrist enough even to see what time it was on his watch since there was no clock in the warehouse or any visible way of telling the time from his vantage point, Wade allowed his eyes to move back to the artist as he worked on his latest creation. Even though the portraits were being made onto smallish canvases compared to some that Wade had seen before when travelling here and there, they were by no means tiny, and there were already several stacked across the room undoubtedly to be moved as Jeff left. Had he not been a psychopath and clearly disturbed Wade would have been almost impressed with the speed and realism that Jeff painted with… the only thing wrong, aside from the obvious, however, was the way each one was focused on a negative emotion and they either had no colour on at all or glaringly almost garish colours, and none of them used where one would conventionally expect them to be.

Cody’s hair for example, was blue the colour of his eyes give or take a shade, and his hair was black. His skin was the same faded pale blue as the denims he wore and his lips were painted a garish shade of pink, kept carefully inside of the outlined image so that they were thrown into relief. There was one image wherein Cody’s gapped-teeth had even been included at the front… out of all of the images in the pile Wade was sure that that was the one that had really made Cody feel violated the most, and that was likely to be the forefront of Ted’s desire to rip Jeff’s intestines out from his stomach and use them as a tow-rope for dump-trucks. All in all it was all so wrong and made the image seem even more bizarre than the rather obscene situation in which they were created.

“Just how long are you intending to hold me hostage?”

Wade knew that Cody wasn’t being selfish by any stretch of the imagination, he genuinely had right to ask that question and be concerned: although they might want to eliminate him once they had his research to avoid any issues that would arise in the aftermath, there was also a chance they might keep their words and let him live… but there was no telling what would happen to Cody with Jeff as his soul carer, especially when neither of the artists’ bosses seemed inclined to point out to him when he should stop and call it a day or anything like that. They seemed happy to consider Cody some sort of object worthy of payment as they needed it even though he was not theirs to give.

Jeff looked momentarily upset by the question, as though he couldn’t understand why Cody might be so keen to leave him, before his expression flickered as though he was talking to himself in his mind or someone else… and sadly that was probably not entirely an improbability. “When I grow tired of you I’ll stop painting you and then I’ll deal with you.” Wade’s eyes narrowed, flexing his legs out and then drawing them back in, hoping to get the blood circulating afresh because he could feel pins and needles setting in from having been bound into a seated position so long without being able to do anything to alleviate the build-up. It was exactly the same as when you were on an airplane, except in this instance neither man had his arms free either and Wade suspected that he wasn’t the only one beginning to feel uncomfortable.

“You’ll deal with me?” Cody repeated, his voice rising a fraction in pissed-off incredulity and Wade applauded mentally at the way Cody managed to keep his cool even though it was obvious what he was insinuating… He just hoped that Ted managed to hold himself back and not do something stupid because of what he was likely to have just heard through either Wade’s implanted radio or Cody’s… though it was more likely to be his own since he couldn’t guarantee that Cody had worked out a way to turn his on the way that he had.

“Yeah,” Jeff said cheerily.

However the cheeriness soon faded when an excited Laurinitus appeared and started talking loudly--- or as loudly as he could considering he constantly sounded as though he had been smoking twenty a day since he was about ten.

“Ready to go Doc?” he grinned, looking as though all of his fortunes had been made; which wasn’t entirely incorrect if he managed to get Wade’s data from him: they were days from still getting the patent after all, and if they submitted the plans and received a patent first… then it wouldn’t matter what was said or done, everyone would think that they had created this life-changing technology. They would be touted as heroes and every inclination or implication that connected them to either the bombing at Alberto’s offices or the train-station would be wiped clean in the face of their pioneering activities in the name of human interest.

When his gaze moved to Cody, JBL wagged a finger at him in an infuriating fashion reminiscent to one you would use on a wayward child, “Oh no, he’s not goin’ anywhere at the moment. The artiste,” Wade mentally scoffed over the fact that the man probably thought he was so suave and continental with the awkwardly accented pronunciation, “—is still working and no one likes to interrupt art in the making do they?” he too was grinning, although there was something in his eyes that spoke of a shrewd paranoia the way that Laurinitus’ seemed to be deliberately shielding from it. As though he didn’t want to contend that at this stage in the game anything could happen unless it was happening the way he had planned for it.

“Come on now,” Laurinitus then motioned to someone and a man with a very bad bleach job walked forward, untying him but then securing cable-ties around his wrists instead, still effectively immobilising him. The blonde man seemed leery and primed for Wade to attack, so Wade figured his best line of potential offence would be to act as though he was merely on the defensive, concerned about himself and merely getting out of there, and nothing less.

“Let’s see if you boy’s come through for ya, shall we?”

~::~

Angling himself a little better on the low hanging tree across from the meeting point for the exchange, Evan narrowed his eyes slightly and then cupped around them with his hands. Luckily, although the weather was proceeding into autumn, the leaves were still predominantly on the trees because although they were somewhat annoying in his line of sight they provided him with extra camouflage. Of course he was wearing dark clothing as another precaution and chances were the men wouldn’t see him the distance he was away from them even if they did happen to be scouting out for someone (and given how paranoid this pair had to be that was a huge possibility) but that didn’t mean he was about to get complacent. If he got caught out then everything went up in smoke.

It was lucky that they had managed to arrive at the drop-point without being tailed or ambushed, and after a brief scout of the area they had discovered that they were indeed the first ones there. It was perfect for them as it allowed them to set up a parameter as they wanted, but also told them that there was every chance that their foes arrogance could be a debilitating handicap.

The small van that all of them (bar Justin, who had travelled in a separate car because it would look odd if there was no vehicle with him, especially if he was meant to be there alone and anticipating returning with Wade) had travelled in was parked back behind what appeared to be a derelict building of some kind, waiting for the moment when they got Wade out of harm’s way and then received some indication of where Cody was. Where they had picked for the drop-off was definitely off the map and Evan honestly doubted that they could be in Chicago still, that they had to have crossed into another state, even though they hadn’t passed any boundary markers informing them of that fact.

The faint sound of an approaching engine faintly tickled the scope of his knowledge and Evan gently pressed underneath his chin to turn his comm on, “I can hear someone coming,” he informed, just in case Justin hadn’t heard it, and most likely because Randy and Ted wouldn’t have heard it thanks to the van adding another layer they had to break through. “It sounds like a bog-standard vehicle. A car, nothing large… a Peugeot?” something standard in the way of a four-door, nothing spectacular at all. When John and Chris had filled them in on what Layfield and Laurinitus were like he had half been expecting that the men would turn up in the horrendous monstrosity of a limo that he apparently owned.

Cupping around his eyes to focus his sight and block out anything else that might distract him Evan used the remaining late-evening sunlight to try and hone in on the vehicle heading their way.

“Confirm three persons inside. One driving and two sat in the back. Oh, wait—“someone had just sat up in the passenger side next to the driver, “Make that four persons.”

So, assuming they hadn’t been scammed over (and it was a bit too far away and in too low a light even for Justin to know their identities immediately) one of those people had to be Wade, the other two would be Laurinitus and Layfield (because no way would they trust this important event to anyone but themselves) so the final one had to be… What? One of the men who had abducted Wade and Cody? A bodyguard like they were?

Evan smirked almost viciously to himself as the car drew closer and closer to where Justin was waiting.

He could never be the type of bodyguard that they were, no matter how hard he tried. He thought he was tough? They would show him tough.

~:~

Chris wasn't at all sure how he felt about being partnered with Randy. On the one hand it was good that he and John had been able to come along at all without too much of an argument and that Randy hadn't been paired off with Evan, as would have probably been the case otherwise. On the other hand, being around the man made him twitchy. He wanted to blurt out questions, like how much did he remember and by the way, did he find Chris's lover attractive? He was just thankful that it wasn't exactly the kind of environment that allowed for small talk between them and he and Randy had always gotten along fine before Evan had dropped his little bombshell. Or rather, before Chris had noticed that Evan was nervy around Randy.

When Evan announced there was a car coming Chris tensed, forgetting for the moment his conflicted thoughts about Randy and thinking more of Wade's well-being and that of Evan, hiding out in the open. He didn't like the thought of any of this stuff. He was with Ted on one thing; that it would be easier to take out their foes and leave one alive to tell them where Cody was being hidden. He did rather reluctantly concede though that there might be some kind of secret signal that would tell whoever was with Cody to move him or even harm him, or perhaps they had underestimated the men they were up against. He somehow doubted it thought. Anyone who was cowardly enough to resort to kidnapping and attacking innocent people with their bombs wasn't likely to be able to stand their ground in the face of probable death, in his opinion at least. 

More than anything, he wished he was out there where he could do something other than lie in wait. 

Out there, Justin was standing his ground as the car swept toward him, catching him in the headlights and stopping scant inches from him. He wasn't nearly as blinded by the lights as he would have been had it not been for Wade and he thought that Evan was right; four people in the car. The tallest figure was in the backseat and Justin felt his heart skip a beat before he took a deep breath, not allowing himself to think too much about Wade's safety in all of this. He had to do the job in front of him and if he worried about the consequences he was more likely to fuck up.

A man got out of the front passenger seat, standing behind the door and looking at Justin. For a second Justin remembered the other man that Wade had alluded to, the one who he had been subject to the first successful skin grafts and yet somehow wasn't a part of their team or even a factor in their lives. The man looking at him had weirdly immobile features and Justin wondered if it was him. And then the man smirked and he put a face to the name, Layfield. One of the men that Alberto had said all along that was a part of the conspiracy against them. 

“Boy, you need to throw down any weapons you got on you and kick 'em over to me.”

Justin fought the urge to roll his eyes. “I didn't bring any weapons. I'm not a fool.”

“Prove it.”

Justin had dressed in loose, dark combats and a close-fitting T-shirt; he raised up the shirt to show that he wasn't hiding anything at his waist and turned to show there was nothing at his back either. He dropped the hem and tugged up the legs of his combats, showing the tops of his boots but no ankle holster. He was telling the absolute truth, he was clean. 

“Good boy.” Layfield dropped his hand to his waist and took out his own gun, holding it rather loosely on Justin. The soldier was certain that he could dodge any bullet that was let loose from that grip and didn't bother about it too much, other than to keep his eyes on the hand holding the gun. One twitch and he was moving. “Stand real still, I'm gonna have my friend Dolph here frisk ya. And if you wanna try anything funny with him, then you'll have a bullet in yer gut before you can blink.”

Justin had no intentions of trying anything but he did hope that the others had gotten the information about the new guy through the comm in his jaw. Dolph. It couldn't be a common name and if they needed anything, they might be able to find it. 

Dolph got out of the car on Layfield's side, all bleached hair and a smug smirk and Justin allowed the man to grope him in an attempt to find anything suspicious, letting his mind focus on something else. Dolph reminded him of someone... and as the man finished his search, it came to him. His face shape, the set of his jaw, was oddly similar to Evan's. Could the man be a relative, did Evan even have any siblings? He didn't know, but then again neither did Evan. He supposed it was one of those coincidences, since there were only so many face shapes that people could have, but it set a rather uncomfortable resonance in his mind. He could end up fighting his own family and he'd never have a clue about it. 

And this was not the time to be thinking about that. There was one person he cared about more than anyone else and that man was currently in danger; letting his mind wander would only harm his chances.

Dolph finished his search by taking out a gadget that looked like some kind of high-tech lint remover and running it over Justin's body. When it got to his back pocket it bleeped and Dolph laughed, reaching into the pocket and pulling out the bug that had been planted there. 

“Nice try boy.” Layfield chuckled as Dolph handed him the device. “Let's see. I think I might have use for it shortly.” He pocketed the bug himself and watched as Dolph finished his checks, finding nothing else. Justin couldn't help feeling slight relief that he hoped didn't show. He had been afraid that somehow they would be able to find the comm that linked him with the rest of his team.

“You got what we want?” 

Justin had left the bag at his feet; the question made him bend to lift it up and show it off.”

“Nice. Get in.”

Justin paused a moment, thinking that they were very arrogant. Had it been him arranging this, he would have had two men in the back to hem him in and give him no chance of leaping out, not that he would have done. However, this man got in first and the thought seemed to be that since Justin would be unable to get to Wade, he would not try to leave the car. The trouble was, he was right. With mild trepidation, Justin climbed in after him, the bag in his hand and had to fight his grin as he got his first good look at Wade since they had been at the hospital. It was all he could do not to knock Dolph aside and give Wade a fierce hug. Instead, he slammed the door of the car behind him and caught Wade's eye, giving him a brief smile that he hoped conveyed all the things he couldn't say with words and then checking over the man. He didn't have any obvious injuries, he was even strapped in with the seatbelt although with his hands behind his back and his legs jammed into the small space, there was no way he was comfortable. 

“They hurt you doctor?” he asked, hoping his voice sounded casual enough and that the title made their relationship sound lesser than it was. If they thought Justin had less to lose if he lost Wade, there might be a better chance to get Wade free without any kind of bloodshed. 

“I'll live,” replied Wade, equally dismissively. Just as if they were talking about a disappointing dinner or something, that was what Justin had been aiming for because it wouldn't help them to be angry and hysterical. It seemed that Wade had gotten the message. 

He was mildly surprised that no one had even looked inside the bag yet as they drove off and Justin had the time to hope that Evan had managed to sneak up on the car. He hadn't seen the man but he had been deliberately not looking for him, he didn't want the movement of his eyes or the expectation in his actions to give Evan away. If they didn't look inside then they wouldn't even need the bugs that were on the car, but they had already checked him for bugs so it had to have occurred to them at some point. He didn't understand. 

He started to understand when the car, having driven a few miles, stopped in a lay-by that was so far off the beaten track that it might as well have been in another state. Chicago was all tall buildings and industry, but out here there were few houses and poorly maintained roads. The lay-by stood beside what might have been a field at some point but was actually now merely a wide space with overgrown grass and a whole lot of dumped rubbish, old furniture and rusted appliances. Outwardly Justin showed no change but inwardly he prepared himself and out of the corner of his eye he saw Wade tense up. They both knew that this was intended to be the final resting place of both of them. Justin had to hope that the plan was to leave them dumped rather than actually bury them, or else they would have to go along with Ted's way of thinking of things. 

“Get out of the car, boy,” said Layfield jovially and Justin did as he was bidden, taking the bag with him, not wanting to risk them driving off with it even if it was bugged. Dolph got out as well, as did Layfield. The man in the driver's seat hadn't so much as spoken but Justin knew that it was Lauriniatis – and that surprised him as well, that both men would turn up to meet him. Maybe they didn't trust one another with the information and if that was the reason then Justin was glad of it. That meant that if something went wrong, then they would at least be able to take out the main guys. But he would like to avoid that for the moment if he could, because if something happened to Cody then they would see it as a failure no matter how safe Wade was. And Ted would never be the same again. None of them would. 

Layfield all but snatched the bag from Justin, taking it to the front of the car and taking the bug scanner from Dolph and pulling out all of the items within. Justin held his breath – would they find all of the bugs or just the more obvious ones that they had put there with the intention of throwing them off the scent?

The man found the bug in the laptop case immediately and laughed, tucking it in the one he had taken from Justin and then going back and finding the one inside the folder as well. Then he handed the bug finder back to Dolph and Justin almost sagged in relief. The micro-bugs had been too small for them to find and it didn't seem to have occurred to him that the pages themselves might have been compromised. 

“Excellent,” said Layfield, his face breaking into an almost painful-looking skin. When all of this was over, Justin intended to tell him about Wade's breakthrough and how it would take away that plasticy appearance that he had. And remind him that he would never be able to make use of it the way that Justin had. “Now walk, boy. I want you to walk into that field over there and maybe the doc can come through this just fine.”

Justin took a deep breath. “I don't think so.”

Layfield raised his eyebrows. “Oh? I can make you change your mind. We're lettin' you get away and then we'll kick the doc out further down the road. It's our insurance, make sure you don't get brave and think you can start throwing punches around once you get the doc back.”

“I've got a little insurance of my own,” said Justin calmly. “I don't believe that you're gonna leave me in a place like this just so that I can come down and pick Wade up after you've made a getaway. Not at all. So you need me, you need us both... there's a new password on the computer. One that Wade doesn't know. One that your tech boys can try to crack all they like, but I'm pretty handy with a computer myself. If they screw it up just once, the hard drive gets wiped and the files will all be corrupted beyond saving.”

Layfield paused and Justin could see the hesitation in his eyes. It seemed that Layfield wasn't wholly savvy about computers and had no idea if such a thing was even possible. Neither was Justin as it happened, although he was good with computers as a whole, and he just hoped that what Evan had gone through with him made him sound like he knew what he was talking about. 

“You little shit.” Layfield looked ruefully amused but his voice was a growl. “You ain't gonna tell us what it is right here, so we can let you and the doc start the walk back to civilisation?”

“No, it's not going to happen. I want to guarantee our safety and out here? That's no guarantee. I'll be going back with you and then I'll be untying the doctor and we'll be on our way. I'll let you know as we're leaving, okay? You won't be leaving us here so that you can shoot us through the window, or run us over and leave our bodies out here.”

Layfield glared and for a moment Justin thought that the man was going to launch himself into a scrap, not that Justin couldn't take him with ease. Instead Layfield slammed his fist against the car and stuffed the laptop and papers back into the bag. “Fine. Get in the fucking car, you blackmailing little bastard.”

Justin would have loved to point out that he wasn't the one doing the blackmailing but he merely shrugged, heading back to the back door and making sure he got there before Dolph did – he wanted to be with Wade and make sure for himself that the man was okay. And he needed Wade near. He had been so damned worried that he still wanted nothing more than to pull his lover into his arms – and yet he still had to act as if this were just another mission. 

Surprisingly Dolph didn't head for the doors, going to the boot instead and pulling out a sports bag. Justin hesitated before he got into the car, staring at the man as he slammed the boot shut, a bag in his hands. He didn't like the looks of this at all. “What the hell's that?”

Layfield, still standing at the front of the car, smirked. “What's what?”

“The bag that blondie there's got. What's that for? I'm not getting back in the car 'til you explain yourself.”

“It's just a... present. For whoever's tracking the bugs you thought it'd be clever to hide all over the place.” 

Dolph carried the bag with some care to the front of the car and Layfield very tentatively undid a zip and dropped the bugs he'd taken from Justin into it. He gave Dolph a nod and the man carried it into the field, placing it rather than dropping it on the ground. That more than anything gave Justin a very bad feeling. 

“What kind of present?”

Layfield gave a rather grim smile. “The kind of present that's gonna teach 'em all they need to know about where they can pick you boys up of course! We've got a friend called Jeff who made up a little something that means they'll be able to see you real soon.” His voice hardened. “Get in the damned car if yer getting. I'm sick of hanging around here.”

Justin did as he was bidden, hoping that he'd kept his rather blank expression. Layfield didn't know that Wade had told them who Jeff was, he didn't know that the others could hear what was going on through his comm and he didn't know that Evan had (hopefully) managed to bug the car itself as well as the laptop and pages they had given him. But he could guess what was meant behind Layfield's rather cryptic words and he knew damned well that Layfield would not have let either of them leave this place if not for the second password.

He didn't know if they were going to keep getting lucky and if Lauriniatis would drive them back to where Cody was being hidden, but he could hope. And if not – they could deal with that, they could find him. They would have to. The important thing at that moment was that he wasn't in this on his own and he hoped that the surprise his friends gave these men would save Wade's life, and his own.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four: Time To Strike Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to eliminate the threat and get their missing members back.

“I got it.”

John’s voice broke the silence inside of the van as he looked at the tracker-screen he had situated upon the remodelled van’s side desk, a television screen situated just a little higher up that could be connected back to the main office should they need it when they took the van out on jobs. Currently that screen was turned off; they didn’t need anyone accidentally happening upon what they were doing, or for their quarries to somehow hear someone on the screen and think they were being set up.

Which they were, of course, but they didn’t need them being alerted to it before time.

“Where do I want to be going?” Randy asked from the front seat, Chris in the passenger side, the small sliding screen to the back of the van open to allow them to hear John speaking. The brunette’s eyes went back to the screen, his lips moving soundlessly as though he was discussing something with himself before he spoke louder to them, “We want to be heading west… they aren’t going all that fast, they stopped before but they’re going again…” which fit in to what they had heard through Wade’s radio and Justin’s com, “Randy, call Evan back,” it would be faster than he and Chris fiddling with the ear-pieces.

“Ev, we need you back here. Ted, is everything ready back there?”

Ted’s smirk looked almost obscene in his sweet face because there was a definite blood-lust present, “Oh yeah, I’m almost done here.”

At his feet lay the small weapons Cody had been retrieving on the day of the second bombing. Wade had explained to them all what they were when everything had calmed down and they had all been sitting together, and Randy had suggested that there might be no better time to test the weapons and see whether they were as good as the man had been anticipating they would be. There was one weapon that currently lacked a user though, as Justin was missing, but that was fine: they could get it to him fast enough as the moment called for it.

John and Chris by contrast were packing ‘normal’ heat, so to speak, their hand-gun located at their sides in their holsters, ready to be drawn the second things went down. Shooting to kill was not something John relished in but this time around he thought he could make an exception with clear conscience should it come down to it.

The door of the van opened and Evan slipped inside, almost like a shadow.

“Four men, like I said. Dolph… He might have been the second to abduct them. They sure talked about him as though he had an active role as opposed to someone that they just brought in now.” And they definitely, given their penchance for paranoia, didn’t seem like the kind of men to bring in random guys for something as important as this. “Did you get a look at him?” Chris asked, wishing Evan was the one seated beside him because a little physical contact with his lover would have done him the world of good then. He thoroughly quashed the voice that sounded suspiciously like Dr Adam telling him he was becoming codependent and instead focused upon what Evan said in response to his question.

“Yeah, I saw. Bad bleach job, frisked Justin pretty good…” his lip curled, “Seems to think himself a big man.”

Ted and Randy both snorted derisively and Chris and John were both of the opinion that they were missing something.

“Did you hear about the bomb?” John asked, unsure exactly how much Evan would have heard if he’d been focused on bugging the car (which he had obviously done successfully on top of the ones still contained within the paperwork that they hadn’t realised were there) because the units had all proved that when they got single-minded on their task nothing could deter them, they were as tenacious as pit-bulls really.

“I heard,” Evan frowned.

“We’re lucky Justin managed to stall them…” because there had been no doubt as to what would have happened otherwise.

“Luck had nothing to do with it,” Ted overrode John’s comment and Randy bristled slightly before then relaxing as he turned down the dirt track that they had approached, following the otherwise continued directions that his lover was providing. To his credit John didn’t act offended by the cut-off, or even surprised; they knew that Wade was safe now, especially with Justin being in his presence, but they had no idea where Cody was, what shape he was in…

And no one really liked to linger on the thought that the psycho bomber was taking care of him in some fashion only because he saw him as some kind of art project.

“Where the hell are they even going?” Chris asked testily as the road just seemed to become more and more barren as they drove along, seemingly leading towards nowhere.

“If we knew that we wouldn’t need bugs.”

“Sarcasm not appreciated, Orton.”

“Please stop,” Evan definitely sounded a touch more pleading that pointed and Chris’ lips pressed together in a firm line as he forced himself back under control; he was too mature for stupid arguing, especially when the reason he was seeking an argument was one that Randy wasn’t even aware of.

“They’ve stopped,” John cut through the following silence quickly before it could become too awkward. None of the units had their coms on so they didn’t have to worry about being overheard by the men they were tailing. It was so handy that Wade had made them both ways and yet one way, if they made any sense… it was the simplest way John could follow it when Wade had been explaining, and Cody had actually been the one to give it.

“Where?” Randy asked, immediately starting to slow his speed and killed the overheard lights. The lack of light was a little off-putting to John and Chris, but none of the units seemed especially bothered. “Stop,” John murmured, the coordinates meaning they’d be far enough away that no one would see the van should anyone be wandering around, and yet close enough for them afterwards to make an abrupt escape.

As everyone was gathering things together to get out of the van to check out where the men had stopped, Ted suddenly asked, “What about the ‘gift’ they left behind for us?”

That had all men pausing and then Chris pulled his BlackBerry from his pocket. “What’re you doing?” Randy asked then lowly, eyes narrowing as he considered that there was a chance the signal might interfere with their technology somehow. Chris merely arched a brow and looked distinctly unruffled by the other as he said dryly, “I’m going to message Alberto. He can send some of our bomb squad down to get rid of it.”

Granted this was an essentially uninhabited area, but even if the only potential victims would be desert animals or something they really couldn’t run the risk.

“Fine. Be quick,” Randy muttered gruffly and shoved open the driver’s door and stepped out of the vehicle. Chris did hurry, but not because Randy told him to, and then he too exited the front of the van and moved around to the back. Bullet-proof vests were shoved at Chris and John, the units only putting them on because it would ‘make them look right’ as opposed to any real fear of damage by bullet. Strapping himself into the vest John then checked his gun, Randy having the inappropriate thought that John looked hot as hell handling his gun, especially because of the smooth, confident movements he used to do so.

Chris mimicked him and then glanced at Evan who was cocking the ‘experimental’ guns that Wade had commissioned. He was a little worried about him using it considering that they hadn’t been tested in a proper environment but he knew that if Wade thought they were truly a problem he would have had them tested long before then… and from what he had heard the Calloway’s products barely needed any adjustment to them differently than they were given when the time came to bust them out and get them used.

“We’ll go forward in pairs…” Randy glanced at Ted, “Don’t go playing a hero on us until we know what’s going down Teddy,” of course he was referring to Ted needing to keep his emotions in check and not go sprinting down after Cody the moment he saw the man.

If they saw the man.

~::~

When the door of the warehouse opened again Jeff barely flinched from the portrait he was doing, but Cody’s head immediately snapped to that direction.

“Oh no!” Jeff’s bottom lip stuck out in a strong pout as he glared at the people coming through the door, “Now look what you’ve done! You made him move!”

Cody’s eyes widened slightly as he saw Justin walking in just behind Wade, a blank expression on his face.

“I hate it when you look so cheerful… It’s really not the same effect at all.”

Cody grimaced slightly as Jeff’s hand suddenly grabbed his chin and forced his head around, multi-coloured paints smearing over his cheeks and chin. Him moving seemed to cause Jeff an issue but the prospect of having paint all over his model didn’t seem to deter him in the slightest. It was weird but considering Cody was well and truly of the opinion that Jeff was mentally ill it didn’t shock him.

“Besides, I don’t see why you’re so cheery,” Jeff smiled then, “Unless you’ve decided that you’re happy about modelling for me now. You should be you know? I don’t often paint people, and those that I do… Well, it definitely takes something special to catch me eye.”

It was on the tip of Cody’s tongue to say that he hadn’t wanted to catch Jeff’s eye or to model for him, but he didn’t want to bring forth an altercation that might interrupt… whatever Justin was there for. Given the size of the folder Layfield held he assumed those were Wade’s paper notes, and Laurinitus was holding a laptop case… although he didn’t look too happy about the fact. Even Layfield looked less jubilant than he had expected the man to be given that he was getting exactly what he wanted. They both were.

So, instead of responding he stayed silent, and merely tried to keep his face as blank as possible.

He was tired, hungry and achy though so this was difficult, his body screaming for him to sag into the chair and close his eyes. However he had the feeling that Jeff would like that and as such his pride was determining that he do whatever he could to foil the artist regardless of the fact that pissing off a man who was so unstable was probably a bad idea.

Across the warehouse another door opened and the older, dark haired man stepped in, closing the door behind him. Justin’s eyes narrowed a fraction as Laurinitus grinned again, seeming to regain some of his former bravado, “Michael, this is Justin, Dr Barrett’s bodyguard. He’s here to get us the last of the information we need.”

Michael had changed out of the paramedic’s uniform from before, having driven the ambulance back and dumped it right near the hospital, the uniforms inside. Of course he had wiped down the steering-wheel and everything else they had touched to prevent anything from being linked back to either himself or Dolph. “How nice,” Michael drawled before going to stand next to Dolph; just like the blonde man he didn’t really care what they were after, just that he wanted the big pay-out that he had been promised for assisting in the endeavour.

Ignoring the man’s clear lack of enthusiasm Laurinitus then motioned for Justin to follow him, Layfield still training a gun on Wade to ensure that nothing ‘funny’ occurred.

“Now then, you’re going to be a good boy and unlock this laptop for us, and then you and the doctor can get out of here no harm done. It’s a shame, you know, that you work for Del Rio, ingenuity and ability like yours could be valuable assets in our company. Ever consider a trade over?” he asked. Justin merely looked at him as though he was insane and Laurinitus sighed before shrugging lightly, “Well, alright, if you insist. If you change your mind though… Well, you can tell me before you leave.”

The sheer level of the man’s arrogance was staggering, thought Justin, but he had a job to do, and if he could keep them stalled a little longer as he did it then so be it.

Opening the laptop after the power-line was plugged into the mains by Laurinitus (he was clearly under the impression that he was going to be on the laptop for a good long while, especially if the ancient looking printer nearby was anything to go by) Justin then remained standing, merely bending at the waist to use the keyboard of the laptop as needed.

From a mirror up in the corner of the office ceiling he could see that Layfield was talking quite animatedly, the gun still pointed between Wade’s shoulder-blades, the bound man standing as casually, bar his position obviously, as though he was waiting for a bus. Cody was out of his line of sight along with the artist, but he could still see Michael and Dolph. Hoping that the others were still able to hear through the com he mused lightly, “Only five of you? Don’t you think that’s a little over-confident?”

“Not at all,” Laurinitus bragged, “We knew you wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise the doctor, and you obviously kept your word like a good boy and didn’t tell anyone—“it took all of Justin’s willpower not to snicker at the man’s arrogance and apparent faith in his ‘good character’. Though if he called him a good boy one more time Justin was going to break from the plan and pop him in the jaw so hard no amount of surgery, not even from Wade, could repair it.

“Well, that’s fair enough,” Justin said amicably enough, “I mean, you’re the one with the gun aren’t you?”

“Exactly. Glad we’ve managed to make this a mutual exchange. No one need get hurt as long as we get what we want.”

Justin fell silent then and slowly, but with the appearance of working swiftly, began to work to dismantle the barriers that he and Evan had set up to further back-up Wade’s laptop for their insurance. It was difficult for Justin not knowing what the others could hear or not, or whether they were already on the move or not, but they all knew the plan and he knew the others wouldn’t leave him high and dry like that.

He just had to trust that soon the backup would arrive and they could all get out of there, and wipe out some nuisances at the same time.

~::~

“It’s just a standard warehouse,” although even the term ‘warehouse’ seemed too grand for it; it was more like an over-large shed, considering half of the building was so neglected it seemed like it would fold in on itself like a house of cards any second now even as they stood there looking at it.

Evan had made a scan of the roof of the building, his swiftness and impressive climbing ability meaning he was the fastest and best-suited to the job. He had reported that there were no weapons or people on the roof, and that from his vantage point he hadn’t seen any other vehicles within the immediate vicinity except for the one that they had used to drive down clearly.

They had heard Justin’s comment about being five men inside, and so they had deduced that Wade and Cody would be two separate, because their comrade had been giving them a hint as to what they would be dealing with. Despite the low numbers they had no indication of weapons and they didn’t want to risk any of them getting the drop on them, especially if they had guns or bombs… and since they had the nutty-bomber in their midst that was a large possibility. So on that note Randy had said he and Chris would take the front, John and Ted the side entrance and Evan could go through the air duct he had seen since these old buildings were designed so that the air duct always led down onto an upper-floor… and if he was somewhere where he could see them but they were less likely to see him---

Well, so much the better the element of surprise and the subsequent damage right?

“Everyone ready?” Randy asked, touching his jaw to turn on his com and then lowering his voice just in case somehow one of the enemy were close enough to Justin that they might hear what he was saying, “We get in, we scope, and then wait for the signal. We need to get Wade and Cody out of there before anything else. Shoot to kill if necessary, although try to leave one of them alive.”

And by ‘one’ they all knew that Randy meant preferably Laurinitus or Layfield considering they were the ones they would get the most information out of. If they could keep everyone alive and merely capture them then that would be even better, but they weren’t about to go out of their way to be overly careful about it… not that any of them would outright admit that of course, because they were trained and programmed to be careful whenever they were handling with a mission with potential repercussions to human life.

“We got it,” Ted said, all but vibrating with the tension of the moment, especially now he knew that Cody was alive but nothing more than that.

“Yeah,” Evan, Chris and John agreed in one.

Randy locked eyes with John, his look speaking volumes even in the virtual darkness that had surrounded them by this point, and John felt his stomach knot in hot anticipation as chilly adrenaline prickles made their way over his skin. Nodding his head in silent promise John then turned and headed around the back of the building to the other exit all but virtually hidden away that Evan had found on his look around. Chris and Evan exchanged a similar look, Evan mouthing, “Be careful,” to his lover before he tucked his gun securely over his shoulder by the strap and then started to climb up the building.

As Chris turned back to Randy he felt himself freeze as he noticed Randy was watching him, an expression on his face like he should know something and he didn’t, and that he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Shaking himself though Chris forced himself to focus on the matter at hand and prompted lowly, “Randy?”

That was enough to bring the other man back and he nodded before starting towards the entrance silently.

~:~

it was impossible to get a visual from the outside, there were no windows to speak of and although the place looked about to fall to pieces, it was surprisingly solid with no handy gaps to look through. And the door had been closed tightly, no way to sneak it open without attracting attention to themselves. Ted was pretty sure that when they entered, it would have to be hard and fast because they weren't about to advertise their presence by trying to sneak. Going in blind wasn't his idea of a good time though; he had no way of knowing where Cody was in that place and there was a chance that if they went in with all guns blazing they would hit him – or if he was in another part of the warehouse, he could be finished before they even got to him. 

He forcibly ignored the part of him that wanted to forge ahead and touched a hand to his jaw. “Ev? You see anything?”

“It's not the world’s best view,” said Evan, so quietly that he was practically breathing the words. “But I can see the main room. Justin's not there and neither is Lauriniatis, so I think they might be off in an office somewhere. Uh, Wade's there standing up, but he's tied up still and Layfield has a gun between his shoulders. Cody's here too--”

He disregarded Ted's slight intake of breath. “He's on a chair, tied I assume. Jeff's opposite but I can't tell if he's armed or not, nothing in his hands but papers and pencils right now but there's a pretty big bag next to him. I think it's drawing stuff – wait. Right, I got a close-up and I don't see a weapon on the top but there might be something beneath the artists tools. He's been a busy boy, there's a big pile of drawings beside him. Anyway, there's another two guys just hanging around. They're armed. One of them's the one I saw in the car before. The other, I dunno, could be anyone.”

“What's the layout like?” asked Randy. 

“Uh... there's just a big rectangular room. Pile of boxes by the south wall but I can't tell if there's anything in them. Other than that, no sign that it's used for anything at all. Pretty much just empty space. I can see the door, Cody's on your right as you come in, by the far wall, with Jeff. Wade's on the right too but right on the other side, by the boxes. And Layfield. The others are on your left. The vent's on the left as well so I assume the office would be right below me since I can't see it.”

“Got it.” Randy switched off his comm and Ted did the same, the pair exchanging quick looks before Randy turned his attention to the handlers. “Plan's the same, I've got Chris's back, John, Ted's got yours. Evan's our surprise and we've gotta get Cody and Wade out uninjured.”

Chris raised his eyebrows. “And Justin?”

“He can get himself out uninjured, he's more than capable.” Randy pressed a hand to his comm again. “Ev, we're going in.”

“Got it. Can Justin hear us?”

“Not sure. We can still hear him but I think it's one-way because he won't want us to be overheard. Let's assume no.”

“We'll soon find out.” Randy clicked off his comm – it wouldn't matter if they were heard in a few seconds but they wouldn't use them when they didn't have to in case it distracted them. He took a deep breath. “Ted, take the left.”

“But—”

“Take the left. We need both those guys neutralised and you're the fastest draw and the best shot. Wade will be ready to drop and Jeff's not armed. You don't need to be distracted by Cody so you take the left.”

Ted didn't look happy about it but nodded his understanding, taking his gun from its holster and checking it over. “I get it. But as soon as they're out of the way, I'm after Cody.”

“If you don't get them out of the way, Cody's gonna be the stationary target,” Randy reminded him and looked back at the doors. “Let's do this.”

~:~

It had been hard for Cody not to get antsy. Justin's presence suggested there was some plan in action – if Lauriniatis's plan had come off, they would have returned without Wade or Justin. Cody tried hard not to look as if he had hope but it was hard work and he wanted to jump at every slight noise. Not that there was much of that, just Jeff occasionally scratching at the page or making a quick comment that was supposed to lead Cody to the attitude he wanted to draw, the dull mumbling of the two men across the room conversing with one another. He could see Justin through the window of the office but Wade had been kept outside, probably to stop Justin being able to get out with the doctor and the research. It made Cody wonder how much of Wade's research was actually there and how much of it had been hidden away – would Justin risk not bringing it all? But then again, could he risk bringing everything? Wade might not be the only person who had used the synthetic skin but he sure as hell was the only person who could currently make it. Yet as he had said, once he showed his research off, it wasn't too hard to replicate. 

Jeff eyed him suspiciously once or twice but didn't seem too moved to ask why he was a little on edge – then again, he'd been on edge the whole night. No one else seemed to be paying any attention to him, Layfield's attention was wholly on Wade and Cody supposed that was to be expected. Wade was the one with what they wanted, he was only the currency for Jeff getting it for them.

He was just starting to get discouraged when he heard a crash and then everything got crazy all at once. 

The first person through the door was Ted and Cody's eyes widened, everything else forgotten as he reminded himself that he wasn't imagining it just because he had done so often through the last few hours. He saw everything as if it was in slow motion; Ted turning immediately to his left and steadying his gun, squeezing off a shot. Cody had eyes only for Ted and it was only from the corner of his eye that he saw Michael, in the process of pulling his own weapon, jolt backward and raise his hands toward his chest before he fell backward like a tree being felled. 

There was another crack from behind Ted and Cody gasped, his eyes darting from Ted to the space behind him, thinking with sudden cold-blooded certainty that someone behind Ted had decided to take him down. Instead he saw John, having run in and dropped to one knee, firing off a shot beyond Ted even as the blonde swung his gun in the direction of the second gunman. The bleach blonde man had actually gotten his gun raised and into position but it made no difference at all. John was too low a target and his bullet obliterated the hair that Cody had found so objectionable, the face that reminded him a little of Evan. Weirdly, Dolph actually took a step forward before seeming to notice that the top of his head was missing and going down in an ungainly heap on the floor. 

The whole thing had taken maybe five seconds. 

Cody saw something from the corner of his eye and tried to turn his head, realising that he didn't have enough give and yet someone was still heading his way. He just about saw Jeff stand, shouting something as the picture he had been working on slid to the ground and then he became aware of Jeff missing, as if he had never been there at all. 

Beyond where Jeff had been, Layfield was drawing his own gun, his face a snarl. Another crack and Layfield's expression changed to one of fear, crossing his arms over his head and falling as if his knees had simply given up. Cody didn't care. He was turning back to Ted, making sure that his lover was okay. 

Ted looked back at him and their eyes met. 

And then Layfield was up, pulling his gun from its holster and blasting wildly. Cody turned in his seat and saw his friends diving for cover from the indiscriminate fire. Beyond that he could see through the office window and he thought he could see movement but Justin wasn't where he had been before. 

His eyes went to Ted, who was on the floor and steadying his gun. In spite of the confrontational position, Cody felt his heart swell and he wanted to be able to shout something, anything, to his lover. I love you would be favourite but look out would work as well. But Ted saw the bullets and Cody knew he would only be distracted to hear his voice. 

And then Jeff rose before him, green eyes blazing with fury. 

~:~

Justin hadn't known when the attack would come but he had known it would come and as soon as he heard the crash he was in motion, heading for Lauriniatis with murder in mind. He had to remind himself that he couldn't do what he wanted to this man, they needed to make sure he lived because his death would be too hard to explain but with what Wade had been through in his mind, it was very difficult to remember that. He comforted himself with the notion that letting him live might just be crueller than killing him outright and moved in, a hard chop to Lauriniatis's shoulder taking him down even as the man raised his arms in some half-assed attempt at protecting himself. Justin knew that the blow would have rendered the entire arm dead and useless and with that in mind he bent and snatched Lauriniatis's gun from him before going out of the office and simply locking it behind him. Threat neutralised. 

He was just in time to see Wade, on the floor with his hands still bound, kick Layfield in the knee. The man howled as something snapped – Wade really hadn't been messing around and he had put his considerable strength into the blow – and dropped the weapon immediately, collapsing, falling to the side and holding his leg in agony. A split-second later Randy was at Layfield's side, kicking the gun away and producing the plastic handcuffs that he put on Layfield easily. Next to him, Chris kept his gun trained on the man even though it was unlikely that anything would happen. All the fight had gone out of him with that kick.

Wade was safe.

With that knowledge, Justin looked over to the chair Cody had been seated in and his heart leapt. Jeff was making his way there, scrabbling along the floor in some attempt to avoid bullets, not that there had been too many of those. They were just too efficient to allow matters to denigrate into a firefight. Cody didn't even look at him until the last moment, when he turned to stare with wide eyes that clearly showed the fright that Jeff had been trying to draw since his capture--

And then Ted barrelled into Jeff, taking him back down to the floor. 

The blonde had lost his gun somewhere and Justin suspected that he had dropped it deliberately. Not that it mattered. Ted had killed a woman with his bare hands not too long since and he had good reason for being willing to do the same thing to this man. It looked more like he wanted Jeff to suffer though, no clean kill here. He started banging Jeff's head on the floor like a bad-tempered child with an uncooperative toy, Jeff spitting out curses and flailing ineffectually at Ted's chest. There was a thud as Jeff's head connected with the floor again and the man groaned, then suddenly lashed out at Ted's jaw with shocking speed and devastating force. It seemed that the bomber didn't always hide behind a weapon. It didn't come close to knocking Ted out but it did distract him and Jeff was able to scramble from beneath Ted and make a dive for the bag he had brought with him. Ted went after him, given momentary pause when Jeff hurled an easel at him with surprising accuracy and then going after him again. 

Jeff delved into the bag and as Ted was upon him, turned with a grin on his face and brought up the gun he had hidden in there, squeezing the trigger. The bullet caught Ted high in the chest, practically at his shoulder.

The reaction probably wasn't what Jeff had hoped for. 

Ted didn't even pause, although there was a stain of blood darkening his shirt. It was as if he hadn't even registered that he had been hit. Instead he grabbed Jeff by the hair and hoisted him to his feet. Jeff screamed, getting off another shot that wouldn't have been fatal even if Ted had been completely unimproved, ploughing a shallow furrow across his chest. A second later Ted pulled the gun from his hand and it dropped to the floor. Ted looked a little surprised, glancing down at his injured shoulder. “You fucked up my grip!”

“You should be dead,” yelled Jeff in response. 

With his good arm Ted threw Jeff against the wall. The bomber took him by surprise by bouncing straight back at him rather than just taking it, seeming to accept what should have been unacceptable and just dealing with it quickly. He whipped something from his pocket even as he was pushing himself away from the wall, a switch-blade and was in the process of pressing the button when someone landed on the floor beside him – Evan, leaving the vent. A moment later he jumped, delivering a roundhouse kick that Ted wouldn't have been surprised to see take the colourful head right off. Jeff went down like a felled tree, sprawling in a heap, and Ted lost interest in him. He didn't seem to be much of a threat anymore. 

Instead he moved over to Cody, checking him quickly for injuries even as he talked. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Oh god, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let you out of my sight, this is all my fault...”

“Teddy. No, it's not your fault and he didn't hurt me.” Cody was surprised that his voice came out so calmly because he didn't feel calm, not by a long shot. “Can you untie me? My arms have gone to sleep and – well, I think if I ever needed a hug, it's now.”

~::~

Immediately Ted’s hands went to the knots securing Cody’s wrists, a fresh wave of rage swelling within his chest as he took in the reddened, somewhat bruised ligature marks that had started to grow around Cody’s wrists. Given the type of rope used they probably wouldn’t have left such prominent marks behind had Cody obviously not been attempting to get himself leverage at some point, causing his wrists damage in the process. To give Cody credit he didn’t even seem to care about those marks, more concerned by the fact that he couldn’t feel his fingers and that the uncomfortable warm-chill tingle of pins-and-needles was spreading all down his arms.

Before he could lament on this fact too long though he found himself being pulled forward by strong hands, the force used to move him actually causing his feet to leave the floor for a moment. Cody squeaked in a rather unmanly way due to the surprise, but then melted faster than cooking chocolate over high heat when Ted’s lips pressed against his. In the back of his awareness he could feel the slight cool, wet sensation of the bloody-patch that had stained Ted’s shirt seeping into his own and as such he should be panicked and fussing over the other but right then Cody was more than happy to kiss Ted and be kissed by Ted, to hold and be held, even though they had an audience—the only conscious one left amongst the three probably going green as he watched the tender and yet fraught display.

Chris quirked a small smile of amusement at the pair before lightly clapping John on the shoulder silently and turning to find Evan. His smile of elation faded though as he noticed Evan was knelt down by the fallen body of the former bleach-blonde, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that the body was missing the top of its head. His expression was blank, the tiniest furrow in the centre of his brow however alerting Chris to the fact that his lover was currently in the throes of attempting to work out a complex problem which he most likely believed should have had an easy answer.

Just behind them Wade suddenly found himself with an armful of Justin, the usually composed men breaking their expected characters to indulge in passionate kisses and gentle caresses as Wade too was freed from the rope that had been binding him. John and Randy were standing together, not being as openly demonstrative as the others, but the way Randy’s hand rested on the back of John’s neck briefly as they spoke in low tones spoke volumes in its own right.

“Evvy?” Chris questioned softly, Evan not responding for a moment.

“Yeah?” the word was so soft it was barely audible, but Chris caught it.

Gently the blonde knelt down besides Evan and hesitated a moment before wrapping an arm around him. Relief and tender affection rushed through the Canadian as Evan leant into him because for a moment he had thought the other was going to just shake him off.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Wade had said that to him once and Chris had always thought the little adage had a catchy little ring to it.

A ghost of a smile flittered over Evan’s lips before his expression became serious once more, aging his face somewhat, but still not making him look as old as he actually was.

“I was just thinking…” he sighed and shook his head then, like an animal would when it was trying to dislodge a pest, “He… Don’t you think he looks like… someone?”

It wasn’t like Evan to bottle out of anything, for any of them to have their courage fail them, but this time around Chris felt that no one could really tease Evan for it; if he was in shock then he had right to be, because he was potentially being confronted by the one thing that all of the units had agreed they didn’t want to find out about: their former families, their connections in the world.

For a moment Chris considered it and then he shook his head; the resemblance was there but it wasn’t as strong as it may have been had the man’s hair been different. “Maybe he looks a little bit like someone,” he said diplomatically before brushing an affectionate kiss over Evan’s temple, “But the someone I know who he resembles… well, he’s definitely the better looking one,” and he wasn’t just saying that because half of Dolph’s head was missing. Absently he found himself wondering whether it would still be considered some classification of necrophilia if he was saying that he didn’t find someone attractive if that someone was deceased in front of him…

Somehow he doubted going to ask Adam would be a great idea.

Before anything more could be said between the pair Randy suddenly appeared behind them. And, much to Chris’ surprise, even though their ‘mission mentality’ was over, Evan didn’t tense or flinch at either Randy’s proximity or the sound of his voice the way he had been doing prior to his dream-remembrance, “We should get out of here… We can tell Alberto about it when we get back, he can decide what to do about all of this.”

“Alright, we’ll be right out,” Evan nodded.

John was carrying out one last scout-around for any still-active security cameras and such that they may have missed, but there was nothing. They were also meticulous in ensuring that nothing that could link them to the situation could be found. Only when they were sure they were going to be clear of the matter did they move out their hostages, binding and carrying them (even in Layfield’s case because as soon as he tried to put weight on his knee he crumpled like a piece of paper, not that anyone felt any sympathy for him) out to the van. Shoving them into it and securing them in the units and their handlers all also made their way into the van. They could have taken the car that Layfield and Laurinitus had been using in the abduction, but they decided to leave it; chances were it could be used to corroborate whatever story Alberto and their press-guys may come up with.

Wade had gotten all of his papers and his laptop back, the items sitting atop his and Justin’s laps as they sat together. No one was saying much of anything, and although they were all elated by their victory, and the added victories of securing the men responsible for the horrific bombings and attempts on Christian’s life, they were all rather muted and subdued, as though weariness was catching up to them.

And in Wade and Cody’s cases that was most certainly true.

~::~

“If you want to come in Ted I can do something about that arm of yours,” Wade offered, seeing as Ted hovered unhappily as John carried Cody up to his and Ted’s apartment. He had obviously wanted to carry him but hadn’t chanced it considering the fact that he had dropped a gun before… and Cody weighed more than a small handgun. “It’s alright,” Ted murmured, not wanting to be separated from Cody for even a moment now, probably not ever again. Wade didn’t blame him for that, but the longer they left the bullet in the more damage was done; better to fix it now than to leave it and let the damage increase, because if it became too bad then there was every chance he would have to replace his arm all over again. He sent the blonde a pointed look and Ted sighed and conceded, following him and Justin inside.

Randy, Chris and Evan were still down in the truck waiting for John to return so that they could take their prisoners across to Alberto at the office where he was waiting with the members of their in-house security force. They weren’t stupid enough to have not noticed the fact that the city’s police-force wasn’t quite as… effective as they may have been when it came to Alberto and his employees’ dealings; a realisation that had been capped off when they had been lacklustre and shoddy about inspecting the scene of the bombing at the office when Alberto and Mike had been hurt. Just as Ted was entering the apartment behind Wade as Justin put away the laptop and research papers to deal with later John was walking back downstairs.

“Still out like a light, and I locked the door behind me,” he promised, tossing Ted the keys.

None of their boys would ever consider hurting one another, or that their handlers would hurt any of them, but given everything that had happened a little paranoid possessiveness was surely forgivable.

“Thanks,” Ted nodded, catching the keys in his good hand and watching as John headed back downstairs.

“You should be resting Wade…” Justin started lightly and then trailed off; he didn’t want Ted hurting either but after everything his lover had been through that day he was undoubtedly mentally and physically exhausted, and Justin wouldn’t have been at all shocked to find that the man had gone into shock. He seemed perfectly coherent and lucid, showing no signs of shock or a latent version of PTSD, but he didn’t want to take any chances. Besides, the fact that Wade was absolutely fucking exhausted was easy to see in his eyes and on his face.

“I will when I’m finished. It shouldn’t take long.” It wasn’t like dealing with totally human tissue after all.

Of course it was in Justin’s instincts to fight back with Wade on the matter but this time he let it go and merely offered, “Can I do anything to help?”

The little smile that Wade sent him made it completely worth it to indulge the man, and he was soon moving around to get some numbing medicines for Ted’s arm, just in case, as well as multiple towels and the tools Wade had asked for.

Conducting impromptu surgery in their living-room was never something Wade had planned to do but he could hardly go to the lab at the office and in all truth he just couldn’t physically bring himself to leave the apartments. They had been gone mere hours since considering moving away due to the fact that their ‘sanctuary’ had been violated so to speak, but now they were back… he couldn’t bring himself to consider leaving again.

As Wade took his newly sterilised tweezers into his gloved hands and started to gently ease the bullet from Ted’s shoulder he found himself wondering, with perhaps a small amount of trepidation, that he was maybe going to turn into one of those reclusive mad scientist types by the time this episode was over and done with.

“Ow, damn, Wade!”

“Oops… Sorry Ted; I thought the numbing solution had taken.”

“Justin!”

“What? You didn’t move when I pinched you; I thought it had gotten going!” Justin protested, grinning.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five: Deal With The Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alberto begins to make waves as to the handling of his formers foes so that life may return to normal, and Vince doesn't appreciate being put in a corner.

“So… I wish I could say I was surprised,” in all the time John had worked for Alberto he had never heard the man sound so glacial before, like ice could form right out of his very mouth as he talked, venom and contempt decorating each syllable in an invisible acidic bite, “But this has your MO’s all over it, doesn’t it? Sneak attacks, underhand tactics… You’re pathetic. The fact you can even call yourselves men is ridiculous.”

Jeff was silent and unmoving, secured like Laurinitus and Layfield in a chair, but these chairs were shackled… almost like electric chairs without the little helmet looking thing supported over the top, but Laurinitus and Layfield were both wearing expressions of pissed off defeat and, dare they even be brassy enough to think it? As though they might try and barter things with him. The mere thought had Alberto’s lip curling; they had another thing coming if they thought they had anything he wanted.

John, Chris, Randy and Evan were standing on the other side of the viewing window, having acquiesced to Alberto’s request to stay outside, Christian however standing at Alberto’s side, his expression admirably neutral considering he was standing before the three men who had been masterminding his murder for well over six months now, give or take another month.

“Yeh weren’t playing the game fair, ‘Berto,” Layfield drawled, trying to keep up some of his usual bravado, but there was a muscle ticking in his jaw, his hair was a mess and a bead of sweat trickled from his temple and down his face. Laurinitus was looking a sickly grey colour, as though he might pass out any moment, despondent and clearly of the opinion that there was no sense in fighting because there was going to be nothing he could do about what was happening. Which was true, but Alberto hadn’t figured him smart enough to have figured that out.

“I wasn’t playing fair?” Alberto repeated in mocking incredulity, “So you attempt to kill my partner?” he indicated Christian, and even despite their situation two of the three men still had the balls to sneer or make another disgusted expression at the prospect of being confronted by homosexuality, “And then you blow up my office? You injure me and another of my employees—“he saw Jeff perk there, as though he had had something confirmed that he had been thinking, and Alberto’s eyes narrowed, “You are in a lot of trouble; kidnapping Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes was just the straw that broke the camel’s back my friends. You are in so much trouble I almost feel sorry—no, I don’t even feel sorry for you a little bit,” his smile became vicious, “Actually, I’m really looking forward to seeing you all pay dearly.”

He motioned for Christian to go to the door of the three-compartment holding-cell and then paused as he followed, stopping just outside of the door’s threshold and glancing casually over his shoulder, “Oh, and that reminds me… You wanted to steal my ‘weapon’ correct? The one Dr Barrett designed?” Jeff looked as though he could care less but Laurinitus and Layfield suddenly looked greedily eager, clueless as to what the weapon was even though they had had the plans to the truth in their hands for at least half an hour.

“You met the four of them this evening--- they were responsible for bringing you here.”

On that note he smirked, turned on his heel and then left, slamming the door behind him and locking it. From their position in the observatory John knew the expression of amused glee on his face was one being mimicked by his peers as Laurinitus and Layfield’s jaws dropped in a comical expression of horror and disbelief.

~:~

“What are you planning to do with them?” asked John. Not that he cared about them, but it didn't seem likely that they would be able to keep them locked up indefinitely – and yet they didn't actually have anything to pin on them. As incredible as it sounded, if none of them were willing to tell of the events of the evening (and in order to keep the units safe, they weren't going to) then there was nothing to arrest the group for. Not unless they had some way of linking Jeff to the bombings. 

Alberto pressed his lips together into a thin line, while Christian looked troubled. “I don't know,” the blonde admitted. “I don't think they'll kick up too much of a fuss right now but they're sure as hell gonna start when they realise there's no cops coming to take them away.”

“Maybe the security guard who let that Jeff up here will be able to ID him,” said Alberto. “Maybe I can make sure of it.”

“That's a starting place but no one's gonna lock him up on the basis of one man's testimony.” John sighed. “Perhaps there's some other evidence, or maybe we can get some kind of confession?”

“That's the kind of thing that Mike would shake his head at,” replied Christian. “There's duress to think of and they're locked up--”

“I'm not going to unlock them either,” snapped Alberto. “Let them run around long enough to get the lead back in their dicks and they'll try something else. And that bomber, ha! You saw his eyes, he thinks this is all a game. He will care nothing of harming himself to get ahead, you know this!” 

“Okay 'Berto,” said Christian soothingly, resting a hand on Alberto's arm. “You're absolutely right, but we need to do this legally or else we won't have a leg to stand on if it ever does come to court.”

“But you said that Mayor McMahon gives orders to the chief of police,” John protested. “And that he's in deep with the two of them--”

Alberto suddenly stopped mid-stride. “Yes, he is. But he has not been implicated with all that has gone on. He must have much to lose and yet he has distanced himself, in case something goes wrong. Because of all he has to lose.”

“What are you suggesting?” asked Christian. 

Alberto gave a rather cold smile. “I think I may have to make a deal with the devil.”

~:~

Vince McMahon wasn't used to people arriving uninvited at his home. He was the mayor and he had a lot more power in this city than was suggested by the title. Not much of anything got done around here without his say-so and his wrath was never pretty. That was why, when someone hammered at his door only minutes before he was going to bed, he decided that unless it was an emergency, someone was going to be very sorry for interrupting him. 

It wasn't a single person at his door but a group, Alberto Del Rio and his entourage. Vince had never been especially fond of Del Rio. For one thing, Vince didn't have a single thing on him. Del Rio didn't seem to go in for anything particularly illicit and although he used underhand means at times to get ahead, there was nothing actually illegal about it. He didn't seem to need Vince's help ever and that annoyed him too. He liked it when there were people in powerful positions owing him favours. 

“The hell do you want at this time?” he asked, perhaps not very diplomatic but he was tired and having this man in front of him could only mean trouble. And he had a busy day ahead of him tomorrow; Josh still wasn't back behind his desk, taking time off to nurse his rapidly recovering lover and the new secretary wasn't what he'd call efficient. Not like Josh, who kept his life running smoothly. 

Vince looked beyond Alberto to take note of the men who were with him. He recognised Del Rio's lover at once and although it was strange that he was there, maybe it was a social call. If so, he'd be even more pissed off. He also recognised Del Rio's lawyer, although the man's name escaped him, he'd dealt with him on occasion over planning permission and the like. Behind the lawyer was another man, young and blonde and muscular, maybe just a touch too close to the lawyer for comfort. Next to him another man, broad-shouldered with very blue eyes and a grim expression. And beside him another man in a vest-top that showed ink all the way up his arms. 

Bodyguards he thought, with only a little surprise. He doubted somehow that Del Rio would turn up to his house to rough him up, watching personally while his lackeys did the job, but he supposed it was a possibility.

Del Rio merely raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to let us in?”

“Why the hell should I? It's late and you don't have an appointment.”

“I suppose we could discuss our business out here.” Alberto smirked. “I have two names for you. Lauiriniatis and Layfield.”

Vince grimaced. He should have seen this coming, should have known those two clowns would fuck up somehow. “Come in. We'll go into the study.”

The group traipsed after him and Vince showed them into the study, closing the door behind him and going behind his desk. “There had better be a damned good reason for this intrusion,” he said grouchily. “It's late.”

“I'm aware of that,” said Alberto, looking pointedly at Vince's pyjamas before taking a seat. Christian sat as well, as did the lawyer, but the others remained standing. 

Vince glanced at the group. “State your business. Quickly. I'm running out of patience.”

“I know that feeling.” Alberto didn't look like he was joking. “You remember Michael, my lawyer, of course?”

“Of course,” replied Vince immediately, although he hadn't remembered the name. And come to think of it, he thought he might have seen the blonde man with him at a couple of functions they had both been at. But the blonde didn't seem to be an assistant of any kind, he looked like more of a bruiser. The other two weren't much better either. They weren't introduced and Vince didn't like what that suggested to him. Not that Alberto would be stupid enough to attack him in his own home...

And then he remembered that Layfield and Lauriniatis had been responsible for attacks on Del Rio's lover and that the man wasn't known for being forgiving. If he said the wrong thing, there was a chance Del Rio would lose his temper. Not that Vince had ever seen that personally but he was pretty sure it was spectacular. 

“Did you fire Ricardo?” he asked with mild sarcasm.

“I thought Ricardo should wait with the car,” replied Alberto mildly. “Who knows what would happen to it otherwise?”

“Cut to the chase Del Rio. Why are you here?”

Alberto leaned forward, his eyes cold and deadly. “I know how things have been working in this city. I know that Lauriniatis has been indulging in selling weapons illegally. I know that Layfield has taken money to let him have a place to do so. And I know that you have accepted bribes to look the other way.”

“I resent that accusation!”

“Oh come on Vince, let us be men and accept the truth. I am not recording our conversation. I have plenty to lose right now as well.”

That was interesting and Vince raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“I am aware that Lauriniatis thinks he will be ruined if I reveal the latest uh, invention my company has come up with. As a matter of fact, he will be. I intend to make sure of it. And the ensuing bankruptcy investigation will implicate Layfield, which is why he was wiling to go along with these plans. And presumably, you too would be implicated. This would not bode well for your re-election.”

“Lauriniatis has nothing,” said Vince coldly.

“But he will try to take you with him and the public needs nothing but suspicion.” Alberto shrugged a little. “They do not need to know for sure that you have taken bribes, the evidence may be buried, but even the whisper will enough to ruin you. The suggestion that you are not trustworthy – well, what politician is? But people need to believe in the people they elect to lead them and should they believe you are involved in such an expensive scandal as I believe will come from this matter, your career is over.”

Vince's lips pressed into a tight line but Alberto didn't stop. “We both know you are guilty. We both know that you take bribes from both of those men to feather your nest and look the other way when they are making their money with the blood of others. You are a crook and I don't believe you are clever enough to completely absolve yourself, no matter how well you have covered yourself. In fact, even I with the little I have on you could make a good case to have you impeached and perhaps even jailed--”

“Who the hell do you think you're talking to?!” Vince half-rose from his chair, hands slamming on the desk. “I'm Vince McMahon, dammit! I will not be accused of these, these lies in my own home!”

No one so much as tensed in case he attacked and that for some reason made him all the more furious. Alberto waved a hand at him rather dismissively. “Sit down before you pop a vein. Is that the expression?”

“That's the one,” said Christian with a chuckle.

“You use it so often when we speak of this man,” said Alberto, rather affectionately. Vince growled and slowly lowered himself back into his seat. No one was intimidated and he wondered if there was any chance of his own lackeys waiting for Alberto on some dark night and making him pay for this slight. 

Alberto got back to business. “Lauriniatis and Layfield are finished, this is a fact. Lauriniatis has mere months before his company is history and then Layfield too will be subject to criminal charges. And so will you. For accepting bribes from them both so they can continue with their money making schemes. However. It doesn't have to be that way.”

Vince paused. “What do you mean? What is it you want from me?”

“A mutually beneficial arrangement.” Alberto smirked. “I have both men, along with the man who blew up my office, in custody at my building. However, this is not legal for the long term, the arrangement is that the police are supposed to be called to remove anyone I lock away. If I were to release them, they may cause me... further trouble. So for the sake of the greater good, I am willing to do what I can to ensure you are not implicated in their activities – on one condition. You will instruct your officers on the correct person to look at. Perhaps even you can turn it into a publicity opportunity, letting it be known you heard something odd and informed the authorities. If you were to wait, it would happen anyway and maybe become a federal matter, one you would have no control at all over – and I would make it my business to let the press know that you have been implicated and for what reasons.”

“So you want me to tell the cops to arrest them?” McMahon looked incredulous. “Are you serious? What would I tell them?”

“I do not care. Tell them what you like. But I expect that you will have someone there to pick up all three men this evening. They will be taken away and questioned and I'm sure that the evidence of their misdeeds will be uncovered. You and your force will get the credit, you will keep your position and they will be out of my way.”

“You expect me to falsify evidence?”

“I don't expect you'll have to falsify anything. You have a certain cunning and I imagine that you have much of your own that could be used against them, for your own protection. I suggest that you cite an anonymous source, maybe that it was delivered to you and you have immediately acted upon it, in spite of long-standing connections. Of course, I cannot make you do anything but if this has to continue for much longer then I shall make it my business to see that you go down alongside them. You know I can do this...” Alberto leant forward, never once taking his eyes from Vince. “And you know that I have good reason to want it. However, I am giving you the smallest of opportunities to emerge from this mess without shit sticking. If you do as I ask.”

He leaned back, the smirk returning. “And of course, you would owe me one, as they say. For helping you out in this manner.”

Vince growled, but it was clear that he was thinking hard. “What makes it so important that it has to be tonight?”

“They have been causing trouble for me and mine. I want them where I don't have to worry about them.”

“Charges of selling weapons to dissidents and for involvement in terrorist activities.” Vince sighed. “They'll go away until shit sticks to the moon.”

“I'm aware of that. But it would happen anyway, once investigation into their means happened. And this way, they will be inside the jail and not running to some foreign country to hide away.”

Vince rather liked the thought of that, because they had really fucked things up for him of late and Lauriniatis seemed to think they were in this together. They weren't. He was bothered about himself, not about that screw-up and he didn't want to be dragged down just because he might have accepted a little money for Layfield violating city codes and for suggesting to the cops when and where they should be investigating.

“If this evidence was to come to light,” he said slowly. “You won't be going back on your word and screwing me over?”

“I give you my word that I won't,” replied Alberto solemnly. “Of course, if you have not covered your ass as well as you should have done, then that is not my lookout. However, I shall do all that I can to make sure you come out of this smelling of roses.”

Vince sat in silence for several minutes, his fingers drumming the table. “Fine then,” he said suddenly, not looking at all happy. “Return to your office and there'll be police there in a couple of hours. I'll explain that someone delivered me the information that I have. And Del Rio, if you go back on your word – well, you're not the only one who has influence and contacts. I'll make sure you wish you'd never been born.”

“Noted,” replied Alberto, sounding bored. “Have the police there soon, yes? I also would like to go to bed.” 

The group left without anything else to say, leaving Vince furious, feeling the urge toward violence. And yet, what else could he do? Thanks to those assholes, he was going to be lucky to get out of this lightly, no matter how little he had been involved. And because Del Rio's boyfriend had been targeted... yeah, he was probably the luckiest man alive come to think of it.  
It just didn't feel that way.

~:~

"Somehow I don't see this being the end of it," Christian murmured softly from where he and Alberto watched Laurinitus, Jeff and Layfield being led away, most satisfactorily, in handcuffs. Alberto looked at the blonde out of the corner of his eye with a slight frown tugging at the corner of his lips, "Of course this is the end of it," he said as though the fact Christian could even consider otherwise was tantamount to ludicrous, "They will do no more to us from this moment on Chihuahua."

For once the petname did little to affect Christian, either through making him smile in that exasperatedly fond way he was wont to do, or even rising up to be pissed-off by it. His eyes were focused on the window, not looking to his lover, "It seems too... simple, 'Berto," he said.

"Simple?" the Mexican sounded as though he was being forced to say a particularly offensive swearword, "This has been far from simple!"

"Not the entire thing," Christian protested lightly before turning around then and facing his Mexican lover, "Just this part."

"I... Don't understand," the uncomfortable honesty from Alberto brought forth something akin to a genuine smile from Christian for the first time that evening. Reaching a hand out he cupped Alberto's cheek.

"I know you don't," he nodded; he hadn't been expecting him to even as he said it.

A furrow appered in Alberto's brow because he clearly had been expecting something more of an answer, but he couldn't push on the issue if Christian didn't want to talk; that was something he had learnt over the course of their relationship that he actually paid attention to without acting as usual.

"Don't look like that," Christian grinned slightly and pinched his cheek playfully, "Your face will get stuck that way before too long."

For the briefest of seconds the Mexican looked concerned. The moment he realised that Christian was teasing him though he growled playfully and seized him around the middle, bearing him away from the window towards the lift nearby.

"I'll show you what happens when you tease me."

"Looking forward to it," the blonde man said, casting a final glance towards the window before the doors of the lift slid closed and blocked the window from view, Alberto's lips soon taking his entire attention.

~:~

"I know I don't remember much of what I used to be like, but I can honestly say that I'm sure I've bever been as scared before in my life as I was today," Ted responded in complete honesty as he looked across to where Cody was towelling himself dry. He had awoken not long after Ted had returned to the room and the two of them had showered together, actually keeping things sweet and chaste... a change for them when you considered how they normally were when alone together intimately.

"Teddy," Cody felt himself filling with irrational guilt even though it wasn't as though he had walked into Wade's kidnapping on purpose, and he certainly hadn't been asked to be abducted so a psychopathic artist could paint him. Over. And. Over. Cody had a sneaking suspicion that from that day forward he was never going to be able to walk past an art shop winndow without cringing or looking away hastily.

Chances were he might even run right past it, on the opposite side of the road so he didn't even need to get near it. And no, he didn't much care about the fact that that was irrational and could also indicate him being a touch mentally unstable in his own right. Before he could think to say anything more the blonde merely held up a hand to silence him and reached out, coaxing the ravenette to move closer to him. Once Cody had stepped up between his thighs the blonde wrapped his exposed arms around Cody's middle and buried his face into his stomach since that was the area of Cody's body most level with him as he sat on the end of their now joint bed.

"I know it's not your fault, I know that... and yet part of me is angry with you for leaving the others to go off on your own, even if it was for a bathroom break," he sounded ruefully amused by his own comment and Cody felt a small smile forming on his lips as well even though nothing was especially amusing about everything that had transpired that day. It was hard to believe that that morning they had thought things would be really straightforward, simple.

An operation and then they would have come back and done some more training, or possibly taken the rest of the afternoon off for leisure activities.

"I'm sorry," Cody said softly, unsure of what else to say when it came down to it, but feeling like he had to say something.

"I told you you don't need to be sorry," Ted mumbled into his stomach.

"I know, but I want to tell you I'm sorry anyway. I don't like getting you upset or scared, or anything over me..." he trailed off and then offered a tentative if cheeky smile, "Except maybe turned on," he added as an afterthought.

For a moment Ted looked startled and then he grinned slowly, "Well, you've nothing to fear on that score."

"Really?" even as he asked it he knew he would likely seem stupid but he couldn't help himself; deep down he couldn't help but think that somehow the events of that night would change his and Ted's relationship somehow.

The blonde looked perplexed, "You were expecting me to say otherwise?" he tilted his head.

"No!" Cody protested and then winced slightly before exhaling and running a hand through his mostly-dry hair, "Well, maybe. Not really. Just a little... I'm not making much sense am I? Sorry..." he trailed off and Ted shook his head, gently rubbing his hand up and down Cody's warm, exposed back. Save for the towel around his hips Cody was gloriously naked and before the night was out Ted was going to make sure that no marks had been left on Cody. Unless they had been left by him.

"It's been a long day, and a lot has happened--" Ted reached and unknotted Cody's towel deftly with one hand as the other encircled Cody's wrist and pulled him down so that he was sprawled across their bed, adorably startled and not protesting. "But I can safely say I want you, if possible, more than I ever did before, Cody."

Cody's expression softened as he saw that although Ted was doing the best to reassure him, there was a definite tick in his jaw and glassiness to his bright blue hues.

In that moment Cody realised he wasn't the only one who needed reassurance, and he opened his arms to Ted swiftly.

"Love me, Teddy. Show me that you still want me and only me."

Seconds later Ted was hovering over Cody, seeking his lips.

~::~

"I'm really alright," Wade said as he turned his head enough to watch as Justin continued to encircle him, running his hands all over the parts of Wade that he could reach. They had destroyed the new notes that had been made, including their bugs, before Justin then finished off removing the second barrier wall that they had placed up to stall for time when it came to Laurinitus and the others. "Angel, listen to me, I'm OK." Aside from rope-marks on his wrists, a bump on the head and a mark where the needle was he was completely and utterly in tip-top condition. Alright, he was going to be a little sore for a while but it was most certainly not something that he couldn't bounce back from after some rest and a check-up to make sure that he hadn't anything left in his system.

Of course he was referring to whatever shit they had placed in his system when they had knocked him out before abducting him hours prior.

"I'm almost finished," Justin mumbled, not once stopping.

"Angel..." Wade considered telling him in a sort-of order to stop, but then he merely decided to let the other get on with it because it wasn't as though he was doing anything wrong after all; had they been in reverse then he'd have been doing the same to him. Actually he would most likely have been worse.

Silence fell between them as Justin examined Wade from head to toe, his movements light and swift, nothing sexual in the touches at all, only concerned caring apparent. It almost broke Wade's heart to realise just how afraid Justin had been, and it was all for his sake. Wade would bet his right arm that Justin hadn't once considered his own wellbeing throughout that entire evening, from realisation that Wade was missing to placing himself essentially in harm's way with the men who had abducted his lover without a weapon.

He could have been seriously hurt, but like Ted he bet the thought hadn't even occurred to Justin because all he would have been caring about would have been to get Wade out of there sharpish.  
"So?" Wade asked when Justin finally sat back, no longer looking him over like a particularly fascinating specimen, "What's the verdict? Anything there that needs dealing with?" It had taken him a moment to consider a way to pose his question without potentially setting Justin off on another level of panic. In the back of his mind Wade's medical knowledge told him that he was likely falling into some level of shock as well but he didn't much care in that moment; he just cared about Justin and how he felt.

His own problems could be faced later when Adam undoubtedly descended upon him and Cody to talk to them about PTSD and all that other psychological stuff that was likely to affect you when you'd been through a traumatic situation. Could it be considered traumatic? Possibly, but in truth he had only been concerned about what might happen to Cody more tha himself. Not that he wasn't afraid to die.

He had a lot of life left that he wanted to live yet.

"Nothing that I can say will cause you too much problem," as he said that however the expression on his face was surprisingly black, as though there was something still that was bothering him. Wade gave it a moment but when Justin made no effort to elaborate he found himself prompting, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Justin mumbled.

"Alright, let's try that again shall we?" he asked.

"Your neck!" Justin suddenly exploded even though he had been silent for several long seconds, leading Wade to consider for a moment that Justin may not answer him at all. Blanking for a second Wade touched his neck, "What about it?" he asked with genuine confusion; something that seemed to further annoy and upset his lover as he sat beside him.

"Those bastards left a mark on you Wade! And what if they had fucked up with that shit they used huh? They could have killed you before they had even managed to do anything about getting in touch with us here.  
And that thought frightened him: that there was some chance they could have ended Wade's life completely unintentionally, and that they wouldn't have even thought to do anything about it. Those monsters would hae merely gotten in touch with them at a later time instead, claimed that they still had him to get the things they wanted and then... well, likely they would have killed Justin on sight, or led him on some merry goose-chase thinking that any second now he was going to see Wade again and they were going to get home together. It was terrible to consider that there was every chance that the men involved would possibly have done something with Wade's body and they might never have found him. Justin didn't realise that he was shaking until Wade's arms enveloped him and he found himself being pulled securely into the man's chest and squeezed tightly, their foreheads resting together lightly.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you that nothing would have happened because that's just not true, and to lie to you like that would be insulting to you," Wade murmured softly, and Justin realised for the first time that the tremours he could currently feel didn't just belong to him, but that Wade was shaking too, "But I'm here now, we're together, and everyone's fine. The bad guys got their comeuppance and it'll only get worse."

He didn't sound especially sorry about that fact.

"I told myself that no matter what happened I would get you out unharmed, that nothing would stop me... but in that time when we could only do what they wanted and we had no way of knowing whether you were alive? Well... I told myself that if they had done anything to you that I would take them all with me if I went down to them."

Wade frowned softly, pressing his face into Jutin's hair and taking a breath to try and calm himself a little.

"You know I wouldn't have wanted you to give up your life, even if mine had been taken," he murmured softly to him.

"You don't honestly expect that I could live without you, do you?" and Wade knew from the look in Justin's eyes that he meant it.


	27. Chapter Twenty-Six: Dealin' With The Crazies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Randy queries Chris about the strange behaviour Evan has had around him recently and Jeff's transport to meet Agent Lita before incarceration doesn't go as planned-- especially when big brother Matt turns up.

Needless to say Laurinitus was kicking himself as he was led down to a holding cell, still quite unable to believe that it was happening to him.

Vince was supposed to have given them essential immunity from the police, what was going on? Why were they being arrested? And on the mayor's orders no less. It just didn't make sense at all. And he couldn't say that he was enjoying anything about the situation. Even Layfield was rattled, though the man was doing his darndest to keep hold of the control that he was pretty much obsessed with when it came to himself.

For one brief moment he had been hoping that it was some sort of elaborate cover-up that their business-partner had come up with, but all too soon reality was biting him in the ass and telling him that this was no joke of scam: he was really getting locked-up.

Jeff was the most inaffected one of them all, showing as much emotion as a young child being dragged off to some horrendously boring grown-up activity, looking bored of all possible things.

There had been a part of him that wanted to slap the man because he clearly didn't realise how serious this actually was now.

They were in big trouble.

And the fact that he knew Layfield at least wouldn't hesitate to send him up the river made it more nerve-wracking.

It would come down on their heads so hard should they try and set one another up and yet he knew they'd do it.

Jeff... well, given how Jeff was such an unpredictable enigma there was every chance that he would just up and come out with everything he had done, and even though there was a good chance he'd get into some damned serious punishment levels for it that probably wouldn't stop him. Laurinitus groaned and his head fell back against the flat excuse for a pillow he had.

If there was one thing Jeff was, aside from insane, it was honest.

Which meant he and Layfield were fucked.

~:~

Chris snapped awake at 4am and knew he wasn't going back to sleep again. It was that simple; sometimes it happened when he had been under stress, that he woke early and simply couldn't get back to sleep. And he'd had a very stressful day really, although he didn't think for a moment that it hadn't been worse for some of his friends. Beside him Evan was asleep, the sheets tangled around his legs, breathing deeply and Chris smiled. Evan was something of a wriggler in bed, he started off wrapped around Chris and tended to shift around in the night. Most mornings Chris found Evan snuggled against him but on when he woke in the night that wasn't always the case and on the rare occasions that Evan went to bed earlier than Chris did, he started off with the covers pulled to his ears and ended up with them kicked onto the floor. Chris's presence meant that he slept a little less fitfully but he was still a mover and it didn't seem to affect him in any way, it wasn't as if he suffered from lack of sleep in particular. Chris also suspected that Evan was a vivid dreamer, he was always mumbling about something in his sleep, usually completely bizarre. And Evan always said he didn't remember a thing about them in the morning. 

Well, except for that one time. 

Chris lay still for a while, but he knew he wasn't about to drift off and he was feeling a little restless. If he stayed where he was, there was a very good chance that he would wake Evan without meaning to and Ev needed all the sleep he could get after the previous day. And in any case, Chris needed to pay a visit. Silently he slipped from the bed, stopped off in the bathroom and hummed under his breath as he considered how he would be spending the next three or four hours until Evan woke up. He wouldn't have minded watching some TV but with Evan's sensitive hearing, he always woke up no matter how quietly Chris put the volume on. And it made Evan feel guilty that he hadn't let Chris prowl around wakeful. 

With that in mind, Chris decided that it might be an idea to go downstairs and into the communal room, where he would be able to watch some television in peace and not disturb Evan, although Evan would know where he was and would be able to come looking for him. He had long since let Evan know what the code on the door was, although there was still only one set of keys... something he would have to rectify before long. He was Evan's handler, true, but no matter what they had thought the units would be, they were men and it was unfair to keep them under lock and key when they certainly were not mere weapons, or someone that obeyed orders blindly and without emotion. But he didn't need to engage any lock other than the numerical one and that if nothing else would tell Evan that he was downstairs. 

He didn't bother to take anything with him, knowing there were drinks and the like down there if he wanted anything and he was already looking forward to stealing one of Cody's Dr Peppers – the boy had a sweet tooth and he always had a six-pack down there, in various stages of depletion. This one was going to be more depleted than he realised. Ah well, Chris would replace it when he remembered. 

He was mildly annoyed to see that there was a light on under the door, indicating that there was someone else already there. He had been rather looking forward to some time on his own and now he would have to make small talk. He doubted very much it was Wade and Justin, or Ted and Cody – he didn't think those couples would be letting one another out of their sights for a while. And he knew it wasn't Evan. That left either John or Randy and the pair of them had been out earlier on. Most likely John then – Randy was apparently a heavy sleeper, according to John's constant teasing and Randy's reluctant acceptance and John had the same kind of overtime mind that Chris had. It wouldn't be the first time he had found John down there and if nothing else it would be interesting to find out what had gone on that evening when he had taken Laurinaitis and Layfield to Alberto to deal with. 

But when he pushed open the door, it wasn't John there at all. Randy glanced up from the chair he was sitting in, a slight flash of guilt in his face until he realised it was Chris and he relaxed the slightest bit. For a moment Chris didn't understand why he looked that way and then he caught a glimpse of smoke rising from the ashtray beside Randy and all became clear. Randy was best described as an occasional smoker; he liked the taste and the effect but he knew too much about the detriment to his health, stamina and efficiency to take up a pack-a-day habit. Chris was under the impression that Randy went onto their balcony to smoke but perhaps he had the same reasons he had for coming down here, not disturbing his partners sleep. Or perhaps it was more to do with John absolutely hating that Randy smoked at all, not liking the smell that clung to him afterwards. Randy might have decided to get some peace while he puffed.

“Hey,” said Chris casually. “Didn't mean to disturb you.”

“No worries.” Randy nodded to the television. “There's a pretty good comedy on right now.”

“Guns? Bombs?”

“Nope.”

“I'm in.” Chris chuckled. “I usually prefer action flicks but I'm thinking that I could do without for a while.”

“I hear that,” replied Randy with feeling. 

Chris went to the fridge in the kitchen and liberated two of Cody's drinks, leaving only one – he was going to go mad when he realised, Chris thought with a grin. Of course Cody had been through a lot and Chris would be right there if he was needed, but hell, it wouldn't hurt to tease him a little, get him back to normal that way. Although no doubt a session with Adam would occur at some time tomorrow... damn. Perhaps he should run out in the morning and replace the ones he'd stolen. He wouldn't like to face Adam without his favourite crutch. 

He went back in, handing a drink to Randy and sitting on the opposite sofa, popping the tab and taking a deep drink. Damn that was good. He let out a loud belch that had Randy looking his way with amused disgust before the unit let rip with one of his own, at least equally loud. 

“Gross,” said Chris. 

“You started it,” said Randy comfortably. “You want a smoke?”

“Nah, I don't.”

“You mind if I do?”

“Go ahead, doesn't bother me.”

Randy lit another cigarette and smoked it in silence, watching the film while Chris tried to grab the thread of what was happening. It wasn't exactly hard, it wasn't the most difficult of films to follow and he was almost sure that he had seen at least a part of it before. He chuckled at a couple of the jokes, draping his legs over the end of the couch. Perhaps if Randy hadn't been there then he might have been able to fall asleep after all but he didn't really fancy dropping off with Randy there. Not that he thought he couldn't trust the man, it just wouldn't have been comfortable for him. Chris had fallen asleep at too many of his friends houses in his wild youth to allow himself to do that, he still expected to wake up with 'penis' written on his forehead in permanent marker. 

Across the room, Randy stubbed out the cigarette and exhaled the last of the smoke. “So. Why's Evan being jumpy around me lately?”

Chris immediately felt any kind of trace of sleep leaving him. “Huh?”

“I did notice.” Randy turned his head to look at Chris, expression carefully blank. “It's gotten better the last few days but there was that period when I thought he was gonna run rather than be anywhere near me. And then you suddenly stopped wanting to be in my presence too, giving me funny looks when you thought I wasn't watching. I've no idea what was with that and you've gotten better too, but I'd like to know what I did to become public enemy number one.”

“We never thought of you as that--”

“But there was something odd there,” Randy interrupted. “I'm sure John knows what it is but there's no way he'd tell me, not if it meant betraying a confidence. The whole purpose of what Wade did with us, why Alberto allowed it, was so that we could work as a team – not just me and Evan but you and me, to a lesser extent. Like we did tonight. And I knew you had my back but I might not have known it if you two hadn't chilled out the last few days and that could have jeopardised everything. So I think I ought to know what's going on.”

“Randy...” Chris sighed. He supposed he should have seen this coming but he had hoped that he and Evan coming to terms with it would make Randy forget about that odd cold pocket that he knew nothing about. But Randy wasn't as dumb as he sometimes pretended to be. 

“It's a little complicated,” he said slowly. “And I can't tell you about it without breaking a promise I made to Evan.”

Randy mulled it over, nodding slowly. “Okay, I wouldn't ask you to do that. But I want to know, to avoid it in the future. I want to ask Evan about it myself.”

Chris grimaced slightly and Randy raised an eyebrow. “You don't think he'd want to tell me about it?”

“He'd rather not,” said Chris truthfully. “Why don't you just take it from me, it was nothing you said or did, it was something that wasn't even really to do with you.”

“How about if I promised not to lose my temper, or play judge, or something like that?”

“He'd still rather not,” replied Chris. “And I don't have to ask him to know that. Can't you just let this one go?”

Randy's frown deepened. “See, now it's a big mystery. And it's bugging me. I don't want to have the same kind of attitude to Evan with me not knowing that he had to me about whatever the hell it is, and I really don't know what it could be if it's not some thoughtless comment I've made. If there's a problem, we should have it out.”

Chris wasn't sure he agreed but he was pretty sure that the more he argued, the more intrigued Randy would become. “Seriously, it wasn't anything to do with you at all. But I can have a word with Evvy in the morning and see if he's okay with me explaining one or two things, or if he wanted to do it himself. He might refuse and then you'll just have to live with what I told you already. Okay?”

Randy didn't look happy about it. “Okay.”

Chris turned his attention back to the television, not at all surprised to find he had lost interest in the film. He and John had decided that it was best to keep the units in the dark, but they were real people and it wasn't at all fair not to tell them what they wanted to know. Maybe it was for the best that they knew nothing at all about their past, but it had occurred to him more than once that Evan's flash of memory might only be the first one and maybe they should be prepared for it. 

Not for the first time, he wished that Evan had remained in blissful ignorance of everything about his history. 

~:~

“Johnny-boy wanted me to deal with his biggest problem. Del Rio.”

Jeff rolled his shoulders out, freed from his handcuffs – it had been decided that there wasn't much he could do in a locked room surrounded by cops and so far he had been quite amicable. However, he had admitted to planting a couple of bombs and being paid to do so and there was no way he was ever going to make bail. He would be transported to jail from the police station and then arraigned in the afternoon. Just enough time to get a look at the place that would be his new home for the next twenty-to-forty years before he went to court and had it confirmed. Not that the sentencing would take place for a while. He seemed just the type to make confessions and act as if he was going to plead guilty and then turn around at the last minute and start proclaiming his innocence for no other reason than to cause trouble and make everyone angry. Or that was what Officer Dave Batista thought when he looked at the man opposite. 

“The reasoning was that if Christian took a dirt nap, then 'Berto would be too cut up to run a company. And perhaps they could blame it on the man himself. Say he was out to kill his lover to get rid of him in such a way that it couldn't possibly have been him. Except that obviously, it was. Or wasn't, if you follow me.” Jeff gave a sly smile. “That was how the mayor planned for you boys to look into it at any rate.”

Dave eyed the man with real dislike. He was well aware that there was corruption in the department and some of it was rife in his superior officers but it stung to have this weird-looking character point it out. 

Jeff told the story with some embellishment, speaking with his hands as much as with his voice at some parts and other times going almost suspiciously still and mumbling. There was a bad case of bi-polar if Dave had ever seen one, although he thought that probably wasn't what was affecting the man. Complete fucking psychosis would have been his guess. 

Jeff described how Lauriniatis had approached him about taking care of Christian, since the first attempt hadn't work – the assassin had been found dead the next day. Dave noted this with interest. He knew who had been found but no word that she had been an assassin of any kind. He had thought she was just some rich society lady and he wasn't sure if he believed even now that she was anything else. Jeff was clearly a few sandwiches short of a picnic. But he wanted as much on Lauriniatis as he could get, since Jeff was quite insistent that he had given the order to blow the shit out of Del Rio's building. 

“What about the bomb in the subway?” he asked at one point. 

Jeff looked surprised. “There wasn't supposed to be anyone but a driver on that train and he wasn't even hurt. I didn't know the kid was there, no one did, did they?”

“I mean, why plant a bomb there?”

“Distract attention. Lauriniatis was panicked that with Christian still upright and sniffin' the air, someone was gonna link him to it. Never stopped panicking about it. 'Course, when he heard about that bomb, he about went purple.” Jeff laughed merrily.

“So he didn't ask you to plant the bomb?”

“He said I better take care of things and make sure that no one knew he gave the order. I took it to mean a copycat attack, so no one thought Del Rio got targeted deliberately.”

“Okay.” Dave sighed, he hated dealing with the mental ones. “And what about Layfield?”

“What about him?”

“Did he have any involvement?”

“Oh, sure. He was always there in the last few meetings. Not right at first, I got the feeling that Lauriniatis did that on his own and then everyone was mad at him for it! But later, when things got desperate. Christian wasn't dying and 'Berto wasn't dying and there had to be another plan.”

“What was the other plan?”

Jeff looked back at him, wide-eyed. “You don't know?”

“Humour me.”

“Hmm.” Jeff looked at the ceiling. “If you don't know, I don't think I should tell you.”

“You'd just better tell me. What was the plan?”

“I'm pretty tired now. I think I want to go lie down for a while.”

“You're not talking any more?”

“No. I'm sleeping. I spent the whole day drawing and half the night talking to you. I'd rather get a nap.”

Dave rolled his eyes, but he already knew he wasn't getting any more out of the little prick that night. Sometimes playing along with the insane made them more talkative and he could always question him from prison after he had been remanded by the judge. “Fine. But you're not staying here, we've arranged to have you transferred to state prison.”

“Huh. Can I sleep in the car?”

“If you really want to.” Dave shook his head a little, standing up and nodding up at the camera that had picked up every word of the interview. Jeff had given them enough rope to hang him and his friends with and the man would be lucky if by the time he was released from jail, he had any hair left at all. And yet Dave couldn't help feeling a little nervous. For some reason, he felt as if this witness could slip through their fingers at anytime and that was an impossibility – but the feeling wouldn't leave him. 

He had arranged for two of his officers to take Jeff to jail in a police car early, before the prisoners even had breakfast. That way he could mention to his other two prisoners, still in the holding cells, that Jeff had already made a confession and been locked up. Jeff was some crazy bastard but the corruption from Layfield and Lauriniatis went right to the top and he wouldn't mind seeing some of the cops above him take a fall for being so easily bought... however, if McMahon had ordered them arrested then more likely he and by extension the department would come out of it squeaky clean. It sucked, but that was how the game was played. It was more about politics than justice, or sometimes it felt that way when he was being cynical.  
Before he could leave the room, Jeff suddenly raised his head from the table he had been resting it on. “Is Agent Lita coming to see me?”

Dave started, turning around and staring at the man, although he usually tried not to show any emotion other than what seemed appropriate for the situation. As it happened, as soon as he had put Jeff's name out on the wire of recently taken into custody he'd had a call from a federal agent who gave her name as Lita... something, it escaped him. She asked for a description, seemed very satisfied and then told him she would be there soon, she was flying in from where ever she was. She'd asked if he could hold Jeff and when Dave admitted that he couldn't but he would be in the state pen, she had said that was good enough and would be meeting him the moment she stepped off the plane. Feds were a strange bunch and he assumed that their bomber had some kind of conviction elsewhere that he was being chased for, not that she would share the information with him. But it was rare that the prisoner would know about it, even less so that he would know her by name.

“How did you know?”

“Lita always shows when I have a little uh-oh,” said Jeff with a tired but still charming smile. “She used to date my brother. Be nice to see her again.”

Dave nodded, speechless, then left the room to get the cops taking him to the jail. He wasn't sure he wanted to meet the fed who had ever dated that psycho's family. 

~:~

Darren Young drove without turning the sirens on – what was the point? There was no hurry to get this asshole to jail and if he made it a leisurely drive, when he got back he could deal with the paperwork and his shift would be done with, nice and easy. His partner Titus would probably agree with him if he voiced the idea but at that moment Titus was more interested in checking out their passenger, looking over his shoulder through the wire mesh.

“Sleeping like a baby,” he said in wonder. “And he looks about ten with that hair.”

“Yeah? Well he's in his thirties and he was the one who blew the subway the other week, and that building downtown.”

“That was him?” Titus gave a low whistle. “He doesn't look very threatening, does he?”

“They never do,” said Darren wisely, having been on the force a whole four months longer than Titus. “It's not like the movies. The real psychos blend in.”

“I guess.” Titus turned his attention away from their passenger and looked out of the front window. The sun was just rising and it marked the end of his series of night shifts. A couple of days off and then back to days, which were rather easier for the most part. He'd thought he'd have nothing fun to tell his girlfriend when he got home, but transporting a dangerous prisoner was certainly worth a mention and of course, the bombing of the subway had been national news. She was going to shit. 

“You up for breakfast when we knock off?” asked Darren casually. 

“Oh yeah.” Titus grinned. “Eggs, bacon, sausage. Sounds great. Then I'm going home and sleeping for roughly twelve hours. I am beat. One of these days I'm gonna win the lottery and then no more night shifts for me.”

“When you do, just remember me,” replied Darren, laughing a little. 

“I'll buy you a burger when I swing through town on one of my round-the-world jaunts,” said Titus and Darren took his hand off the wheel to give him a friendly punch in the arm. Almost as soon as he did so there was a thud from beneath the car and the vehicle listed as steering suddenly became next to impossible. It was fortunate that Darren hadn't been going very fast and that he had plenty of training when it came to driving techniques, but his eyes were wide and his heart pounding as he coaxed the car to some semblance of control and managed to stop it. 

Titus looked back at him. “What the fuck...?”

“I have no idea,” said Darren, shaking his head and getting out of the car to check what they might have run over. 

He went to the front first and saw that his tyre wasn't just punctured but shredded, huge flaps of rubber hanging from it. With a feeling of rising dread, he looked back at the road, seeing what looked like a spike strip across the highway, the kind they used in the force to stop speeding drivers trying to run from them. But what would it be doing out here?

Except that this was the route that the cops always took to the jail?

Inside the car, Titus hadn't even considered getting out, still talking. “You ain't gonna believe this, but our guest's still sleeping! How anyone can sleep through that is beyond me--”

Before Darren could inform Titus that there was something seriously amiss, he felt an arm go around his neck. A second later there was a loud gunshot and he screamed as a bullet went straight through his foot. 

Career ending injury right there, he thought to himself, although it was a dim and distant thought, overpowered by the kind of pain he had never thought possible. And worse, he wasn't even close to passing out from it. He was pretty sure he was going to puke and even more sure that he was going to collapse, but the arm around his neck kept him up, almost choking him, forcing him to put some weight on his good foot. No matter how serious the pressure at his neck, there was no way that he could use his gunshot foot for anything at all. His shoe was filling with blood and he had a rather delirious moment when he mourned its loss. It would be good for nothing now.

Titus got out of the car, hand creeping to his gun, eyes wide. The man who had grabbed Darren was around six-one, white with long dark hair, tied back with the odd curl escaping it. This man was stockier, darker than the one in the back of the car and the eyes were entirely different and yet there was enough of a resemblance for him to know that somehow, the two of them were related. And he suspected that this one was just as insane as his bomb-loving relative, even if he didn't look it. Although hanging onto a cop around the neck with a gun pointed at his temple made him look pretty fucking crazy.

“I think I showed I'm not scared to hurt either one of you,” the man said, his voice neutral although Titus thought he heard some faint sound of amusement beneath. “Drop your gun and kick it over here.”

Titus considered the options and realised there weren't any. The man was holding Darren in front of him as a shield and Darren was injured. He couldn't get off a shot and if he tried anything, he was pretty sure that his partners brains would be painting the highway. He dropped the gun to the asphalt and kicked it in the man's direction, hoping spitefully that the gun would misfire and shoot his cock off. 

There was no misfire and the man smirked. “You go over there and let my brother out of the car.”

Oh, they were brothers. Mother and father must be so proud of the little psychos, or so Titus thought as he did as he was told. Jeff was awake, looking slightly bleary-eyed but he scrambled out just as soon as the way free was shown to him.

“You wanna take off the cuffs as well?” suggested Jeff, rather petulantly. Titus didn't want but he did so. There was no point in making life any harder. Jeff's hands were free in a moment and he shook them as if trying to get the feeling back, then went over to the gun Titus had kicked away and picked it up, checking the clip. A moment later he took the gun from Darren's holster as well, looking at it as if he had never seen one before. 

“I don't have enough hands to check if there's bullets in it,” he said and then his face cleared, as if he'd come up with some great idea. He swung the gun in Titus's direction and fired a single shot, hitting Titus in the ankle. The man screamed and fell, writhing on the ground. 

“Just in case you decide you wanna come after us,” the dark-haired brother said casually, pushing Darren away from him and letting him fall to the ground as well. 

“You took your time, Matt,” said Jeff but he didn't sound unhappy about it. 

“Hey, first chance I got.” Matt put his own gun in a holster at his hip. “What the fuck trouble did you get into this time?”

“They stole my muse back. They took him--”

“Tough.”

“Matt! That was my muse--”

“Yeah, and he wasn't the first one and he won't be the last. This is serious Jeff, we're gonna have cops everywhere looking for you – and me too, now. We have to get out of Chicago.”

“But my muse--”

“Your muse can go to hell! He'll be well guarded and on his guard. No way can we get to him again and we can't spare the time. We need to get out of the city.”

Jeff looked so woebegone that Matt clapped him on the back, smiling sympathetically. “Just think of him as the one that got away. Maybe you can do a series based on the concept.”

Jeff brightened a little. “Maybe. I got some good stuff out of him before his boyfriend tried to rip off my head with his bare hands.”

“Good man. Come on Jeff, we have to go now.” Matt paused. “Did Lita show?”

“She was on her way, coming to talk to me in jail. Guess she'll have to live with having missed me, again.”

“Serves her right, dumping me for a psychiatrist.” Matt's voice was laden with disdain. 

Jeff shook his head, not at all surprised that Matt was still butthurt about that one. “She's got a vendetta against us, certainly. I think she'd stop at nothing to get us locked away forever.”

“Ha!” Matt grinned. “No way that's happening. The Hardy Boys will be free forever – provided we get clear of Chicago right now. You take the cop car a couple of miles, there's a lay-by we can leave it in and it'll look like it's just parked up if anyone goes past. These two can't be allowed to rat us out.”

“You think we should shoot them again?”

“Nah. As long as they're just injured, there'll be less heat. And it's not like they can crawl from here for help. Shouldn't be much traffic either, that's why the cops choose this route.” Matt sighed. “Come on, time for us to vanish. And in the next place we settle down, perhaps you can keep your head down for more than five minutes!”

~::~

Needless to say the news of the escape did not go down well with any party.

Alberto was itching to get on the warpath with Vince, almost convinced that the man had to have something to do with the escape of the bomber, but Christian had managed to stop him. Although it wasn’t good for them that the mad-men had escaped the blonde didn’t see that he would be coming back anytime soon; whoever had busted him free had to know that the authorities there would be gunning for Jeff from then on now it had emerged for certain what he had done. Regardless of the fact he had managed to stop his lover going mental on the mayor that hadn’t stopped some pretty scathing words being given to the local police force…

He didn’t know what hurt more; the fact that Batista was suffering his first escapee or that Alberto was the one running him into the ground over it, as Dave was much more used to doing the running into than being run over.

Cody was pretty terrified he wasn’t going to lie because he had come to realise in the short, but still much-too-long-for-him time that he had known Jeff, the man would stop at nothing to get what he wanted for his art. It was a bizarre motivation that he still hadn’t entirely wrapped his head around, yes, but that didn’t matter. All that he had been thinking about was how there was a chance that one day Jeff’s drawings might appear on their door again, or that the crazy rainbow-haired hit-man would snatch him as he walked down the street. Regardless of the reassurances from the police that they had no reason to suspect he had remained in the state Cody was not assured… and given the fact that Ted had nearly come to blows with an officer who was just a little too blasé about the situation said that he wasn’t happy either.

John, Randy, Evan and Chris all had mixed feelings on the matter, the firmest being concern for their closest friends and colleagues; Jeff had done a lot of damage on the bidding of Laurinitus and Layfield and there was a small part of them that considered there was a chance that the man acting without some sort of supposed order would make him even worse. They would need to have some serious discussions about their living arrangements in the future just in case. No one was telling them they had to move and if you asked each man honestly they would say they didn’t want to leave the area--- although if they did remain in place then they were going to need to completely revamp their security and the way the guards handled visitors and suchlike.

Alberto was still a little bitter about the fact that Jeff had actually managed to make it to the front door at all, let alone completely unscathed to the degree where he could just waltz back off again without issue.

Out of everyone present it seemed that Wade was the least personally affected by the prospect of Jeff escaping. Now this wasn’t because he underestimated the man’s dangerous nature or capabilities, but because he knew he wouldn’t be considered a target by Jeff. Not once had Jeff displayed an interest in anything he did, not even including him in the paintings he had done of Cody when the two men had almost been close enough to sit on each other’s laps. No, Wade had nothing to fear from the bomber, not like Christian may still have and Cody most likely did should they run into each other. Justin was of a similar opinion to Chris and the others, although at one point he had come so close to taking matters into his own hands to hunt the man down that Wade had threatened to tie him to the bed and keep him there.

Justin’s response of, “Is that really supposed to be a punishment?” was enough to lead to certain other activities that had them distracting one another for a while, but both men already knew deep down that it was going to be at least a week minimum before the shock and anxiety that accompanied this news died down.

~::~

“Where are my Dr Peppers?!”

From the pitch Cody’s voice had reached it seemed the other was close to having some sort of breakdown.

Cody was almost fully enveloped by the fridge in the communal area as he shoved aside the few items within as though hoping that somehow his cans of precious pop were somehow just hiding from him momentarily behind an old opened yoghurt that had been left in there so long it had sprouted some sort of bacterial plant-life… they should probably throw that away. Who the hell liked rhubarb yoghurts anyway?

Standing just behind him and off to the side stood Ted, looking as though he wasn’t sure whether to be amused or somewhat concerned by what he was seeing. Cody had been scheduled to see Dr Adam first thing and though it still struck Ted as slightly odd that he would want to see Cody first considering that Wade had been the actual target he had thought about it and came up with a reason: they thought Cody was least likely to be coping with everything that had happened than Wade presumably would. A small part of him felt like he should confront Adam over having such a lack of faith in Cody’s resilience but there was a small part of him that personally was also concerned.

Sure it had been just less than 24 hours since everything had gone down and no one could recover that quickly from a traumatic event but there was still so much off with Cody he couldn’t put his finger on it to define which bit concerned him most.

It hurt to consider that Cody maybe wasn’t gaining any closure or peace from confiding in him even though they had talked long and hard about it all the night before (before they had become distracted that was) and he had believed that that was likely to be a step to bringing back the bright and bubbly man he knew, not this subdued and jumpy version who was hiding behind a slightly strained smile and an almost obsessive compulsion for fizzy drinks. But it wasn’t the time to be worrying about that; if Dr Adam could help Cody then that was good, and Ted’s own insecurities on the matter didn’t even hold that much weight in lieu of the damage that Cody had most likely suffered from being forced into the kind of situation he had and then being told that the man who intended to keep him, like some sort of illegal and sick-fetish-like pet, had escaped… Well, anyone would be messed up.

Scrubbing a hand over his face Ted wanly mused that Cody’s anxiety had to be rubbing off on him because he felt nervous as hell and his thoughts weren’t even making sense inside of his own head. “I’ll go and get you some more if you need them,” Ted offered, seeing the slightly crestfallen and oddly panicked expression that the other was wearing as he emerged from his intrepid exploration into the fridge and discovered that a single can remained. Almost immediately Cody flinched and then stiffened before straightening up a little and giving that (if you’d pardon the slight pun and irony given Ted was the one to think of it this way) slightly robotic smile that he had perfected in the past few hours.

“It’s fine. I can manage with this. I’ll just have the delivery guys get me some more next time they come over.”

Ted’s brow furrowed slightly at the refusal but he understood Cody’s motivation and merely nodded to assure him that he agreed with him and wasn’t about to go anywhere. Immediately some of the tensions seemed to leave Cody but there was a little still lingering around in his facial features. Ordinarily Ted would have teased his delightfully self-conscious and yet oddly vain lover about the fact that he was going to give himself frown-lines and wrinkles if he carried on like that. This time around though he heeded the advice of the old adage that there was a time and a place for everything, and playing on Cody’s weak-points even in playful jest was neither in the right time or place.

Before anything more could be said between the pair though the door to the communal area opened and Evan stepped inside. He was dressed in a chequered shirt and some black skinny jeans that highlighted his slim but strong physique and made his lips seemed a little darker. Absently Ted wondered why Evan rubbed at the bridge of his nose the way he did, because even he knew what it looked like when someone wanted to push glasses up. And Evan didn’t wear glasses. Out of all of them Evan was the one who was least likely to need glasses for anything ever. “Morning,” the smaller man greeted with a smile, and Ted returned it. Cody’s attempt was much more feeble and automatic but Evan didn’t seem to mind.

Or at least he didn’t call him on it.

“I thought someone had recorded bat-sonar in here or something before,” he joked as he moved across to the kettle and topped it with fresh water before setting it onto boil, “What did you do to him Teddy?” Evan winked to show he was only playing but the blonde went red despite himself and for the briefest of moments a glimpse of the real Cody shone through.

“His Dr Peppers have been drunk again,” Ted mumbled in response.

Evan looked perplexed a moment and then held his hands up, “Well it wasn’t me.” He was more of a Fanta kind of guy personally. Besides, he’d nabbed a can once and the tongue-lashing Cody had given him afterwards about how Cody doesn’t share pop had been enough to warn him off from ever taking a can from the communal fridge without checking with Cody first that it was a) his and b) alright for him to have.

“Why this time of all times?”

The pathetic mewl and the way Cody let his head drop down onto the counter would have made Evan laugh under other circumstances but this time he was a little worried about the damage that Cody was potentially doing to his head. Awkwardly he glanced at Ted who gave a half-shrug that spoke volumes and the smaller man nodded in understanding.

Moments later Chris came into the communal area and the second he saw Cody had been in the fridge he immediately tried to back-peddle.

“Christopher Jericho.”

The deadly way in which Cody said his name, even with the usually unthreatening lisp, was enough to have Chris holding up his hands as though to ward Cody off as he gave a nervous chuckle, “Uh, hey Code-man… something wrong?”

Watching the scene as it unfolded Evan’s brows arched and then furrowed; there had been three cans the day before, and if Chris was responsible for two going missing that meant that he had to have left their bed last night. Honestly if he had Evan wouldn’t have noticed because he’d been sound asleep (having a dream that seemed right out of Disney’s Fantasia what with all of the rhinos with tutus and everything).

“Chris, did you take the cans?”

Chris glanced at him in a way that suggested he was supposed to be on his side, but then he hastily explained, “I wasn’t the only one who had one: Randy had one too!”

For a moment Evan felt an uncomfortable sensation settle in the pit of his stomach; he could only imagine how awkward that situation might have been for Chris, especially since the man had been making a point not to be alone with Randy since he had fessed up about the dream. Chris didn’t seem perturbed about their apparent encounter though so Evan just had to surmise that all went well and hopefully it would continue on that way with Randy in lovely oblivious bliss and all.

“Randy had what now?” John asked as he stepped into the room, brow arching.

“One of Cody’s cans,” Evan supplied helpfully just as the man in question entered the room with Justin and Wade behind him.

Immediately Justin took over kettle duties since he was the only one who could make Wade’s tea the way he liked it, and honestly he needed something to do with his hands because he had a lot of pent-up energy. Wade had said something about a build-up of adrenaline but in truth Justin hadn’t been following all that much of his explanation--- he lost him into the first two minutes.

“Idiot,” John told Randy with a smirk and Randy rolled his eyes slightly.

“You’re acting as though I stole a kidney or something.”

“He’d probably be more accepting of that,” Wade inputted lightly as he sat down on the nearest available seat and reached across for the morning paper, vanishing behind it.

Well used to his friends’ taunts about his sweet-tooth Cody merely stuck his tongue out at Randy and Chris and huffed, “You two owe me some new drinks!”

The pair opened their mouths, ostensibly to try and ‘reason’ with Cody in their dramatic scenario, but really wanting to ask how Cody was managing to make his voice get that high considering that it was pretty apparent that the necessary items had been dropped around the time of puberty.

When the door opened once more though the group exchanged looks before a collective sigh of mild annoyance and begrudging acceptance sounded. Adam to his credit looked completely unruffled by this and indeed smiled wider--- something Randy had whispered to the others that he insisted on doing because then he could rile you up and try and trap you into something. “Morning all,” he greeted brightly, being met with varying degrees of emotion in the faces of the men around him.

“Uh, aren’t you early doc? We haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

“Oh, kind of you to offer--- you don’t have any waffles do you? Or pancakes?”


	28. Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Case Of The Exes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lita makes her presence known and tells the boys a little more about the Hardy Brothers.

“I don’t see how we can help you,” Christian repeated, rubbing a hand over the back of his head.

“On the contrary,” the striking woman with (no offense but most likely augmented) breasts and a no-nonsense attitude was refusing to let him off on the matter, and it didn’t help that Alberto was sitting back and clearly enjoying the show--- though whether that was because of the woman or Christian becoming unaccountably flustered he didn’t know, “—I think you can help me a great deal if you direct me to the men who had a confrontation with Jeff.”

“You know his name?” for the first time since introducing himself Alberto spoke and Christian cocked his head in turn, definitely interested to hear her answer to this.

“Of course I know his name,” Lita said, pushing some of her deep red hair off of her face and glancing down at her watch, “I’ve been… dealing with his family for years.”

Something in the way she had phrased that seemed off but both Alberto and Christian seemed to mutually agree through the silence not to call her on it; she seemed like the kick-you-in-the-crotch-first-ask-questions-later sort of girl.

“I do not want my eployees upset,” Alberto started and his tone said that he didn’t care whether she was a federal agent or not, he was laying down the law here, “They had a trying night and their colleagues and friends who mounted their rescue effort are also distressed… I am worried continued questioning might provoke some sort of relapse.”

For a moment Christian stared at Alberto, not having realised he would come out and admit that the others had rescued them… but given that the truth was bound to come out eventually they should get in their first and they could create their own spin on it.

“And I understand that,” Lita acquiesced as she pulled a smart-phone from her pocket, pressed a few buttons and then re-pocketed it, “In that case I’ll talk to the psychiatrist you have dealing with them.” When both men remained silent Lita laughed in a rather condescending and bored manner, “Please gentleman, do you really think we wouldn’t know the likes of your business wouldn’t have its own lawyers of psychiatric provisions?” they did go out into wartime situations for intelligence and suchlike on the behest of the government, but of course the ordinary people didn’t know that.

Silence stretched between the three of them then before Alberto finally sighed and pressed a button on his intercom, the item buzzing most annoyingly before Ricardo’s voice sounded,

“Si?”

A fluent response of Spanish was given and although Christian didn’t speak the language as fluently as his lover, had a basic grasp at best (it wasn’t his fault Alberto always got distracted when he asked him for Spanish lessons) he wasn’t daft enough to not understand the gist of it.

When they finished and the intercom buzzed off again Alberto directed a charming smile in Lita’s direction and indicated where the door had opened and their driver, Jerry, had entered the room, smiling in the jovial way that always reminded Christian of one of those favourite uncles that would let you get away with anything. Jerry was no mug though and for all he was an older man he had a right hook that had made him quite the big deal in his native state in his youth, “Jerry will escort you there and wait with you should needs be.”

“Thank you,” LIta stood then, brushing imaginary lint from her trailored pants-suit before extending a black-nailed hand out to shake both Christian’s and Alberto’s. Professional and to the point though she was there was something about the suited smartness that didn’t entirely suit her, as though she would be more comfortable in a band t-shirt and cargo pants. Don’t ask Christian how he knew that, but there was something in her demeanour that reminded him of himself, Chris and Adam back in the day.

Twenty minutes later Lita found herself arriving outside of a smart looking apartment complex and she looked confusedly at Jerry for a brief moment before she caught herself and the driver glanced back out of the rear-view mirror and said, “Here we are ma’am. Dr Adam’ll be inside talking to them; after what happened,” his smile slipped a little and the warm eyes turned flinty before his face was composed once more and he carried on as though the lapse had never happened, “—he’s likely wanting to talk to young Cody and Dr Barrett.”

“Young Cody?”

“Oh, he’s the son of one of our board members, Dusty. Retired now though for the main, only comes in now and again for an advice capacity.”

“And he was the second abductee?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Alright. Thank you Jerry.”

Climbing out of the car Lita walked up to the front door and took stock of the cameras around the doors, and that there were two security guards walking around together in an obvious kind of casualness that spoke of trying too hard to be unnoticed. A slight smirk curled around her lips before she approached them, seeing the key pad and knowing that knocking or buzzing through wouldn’t help her--- not unless Del Rio had had the presence of mind to buzz ahead.

The way the two men looked her over before straightened up the second they saw the badge in her hand they immediately offered her whatever help they had to give her--- especially after they radio’d through to Alberto and he confirmed that she had permission to be there and if she needed assistance then they were to provide it.

When the door of the apartment closed behind her Lita turned her head and headed towards the room where Christian had mentioned they would likely be, and she opened the door. The effect would have been amusing had she not been so used to it.

A woman? In here? Oh my god!

Flipping her badge open Lita smiled, “Hello boys. Agent Lita, I’m here to talk to Adam Copeland. Someone tell me where he is?”

When they remained silent she rolled her eyes, “You can call Del Rio is you don’t believe me; he’s the one who told me to come here.”

A small, youngish looking man, cute as a button, stood up and offered a tentative smile, “Uh, hi, agent Lita.”

“Call me Lita.”

“Lita,” he said obediently, turning momentarily and offering a slight smile to the older, blonde haired man who had caught his hand in a subtle, light gesture, but to someone experienced in the art of reading body-language she could read the possessiveness involved, “Um, Dr Adam’s busy at the moment. But he’ll probably be done soon,” he offered a tentative if guarded smile which was understandable, and Lita smiled back a little more openly; she needed them at ease if they were going to be any good to her…

And she already knew that Adam was going to handle this badly.

Glancing around the room Lita took in the men waiting; there wasn’t an unattractive man amongst them even if none of them were typically what she may choose… aside from that tattooed one lounging across the room with a brunette man who looked army-esque with that kind of haircut. There was the older blonde who was holding onto the younger man, the younger guy, and then there was another young guy with apparently exotic heritage, African maybe of some description, and then Dr Barrett; he was well-known even to their agency.

“Dr Barrett,” she nodded, and then pulled a typed sheaf of paper from her pocket and glanced at the names before looking around the room, pointing, “Bourne,” little guy, “Jericho,” blondie, “Cena?” she did hesitate a moment there and the brunette nodded, dimples appearing a moment, true American boy, “Orton,” now she had pegged that one she had that name, and since she knew Wade that left, “DiBiase and Gabriel,” when the other two men nodded she paused a moment and then glanced at the door across the room, “And I’m guessing ‘young Cody’ is in there?”

The young blonde twitched slightly and Lita had to suppress a mildly disappointed sigh; trust such a bunch of attractive men to all be gay, and interestingly enough gay together. She’d bet Adam would have a field day when he realised this… because she’d bet her trusty side-arm that his obliviousness had remained the same as it had ever been.

“Mind if I sit?”

She sat down on an available chair even as she spoke, mildly surprised when the younger blonde stood and offered, in a twang that was most definitely Southern, “Can I get you somethin’ to drink? Coffee? Or soft drinks—“though he hesitated there as though something was holding him back from making that offer.

“Coffee, please,” she could have gotten her own but, hey, he was offering.

As Ted busied himself with making the newcomer coffee, Randy was assessing her the same way Chris was, John being the one, as always, to try and break the tension with his chatter, and asking the one thing that had been on their minds since she had walked in:

“So… why are you here, Lita?”

Initially she had no idea if he was joking with her, and then mentally groaned when she realised that they genuinely didn’t appear to know.

To be fair though, when she had arrived in his office before Alberto had just gotten the call saying that Jeff had managed to escape, the two officers escorting him being injured by gunshot wounds thanks to Jeff’s brother. Needless to say it made things awkward for Lita indeed on those cringe-worthy occasions when her mother happened to bring up Matt in conversation and asked if she knew what he was doing now. Somehow she suspected that saying: well he’s now technically a fugitive for busting his fugitive brother out of prison, would go down well with her folks.

“Jeff Hardy never arrived to his holding cell in the local prison,” she told them, the group’s mouths dropping open even as there was a harsh sound of shattering pottery in Ted’s hands as he gripped the mug he had been pouring freshly boiled water into too hard and caused it to crack, splinter and finally break, “—his brother shot one of the transporting him and then absconded with his brother. He’s not coming back into the state now. He’s long gone.”

After a moment her brows rose, looking at Ted’s hands; they were covered in scalding coffee and yet he didn’t even seem to notice it, the appendages balled into fists with the boiling liquid dripping off of them. His jaw was set and his face rapidly reddening, tremours running through him as though he was fighting an internal explosion.

“Ted,” the one called Orton (Randy, and she wondered if the name was appropriate; he certainly had the air of that sort) spoke in a brusque, firm tone, “Stand down. We’ll deal with this. They won’t let him get far—“he shot Lita a look then that suggested she had better say the right thing or else.

Now, although she resented the potential threat from the man before her Lita turned to Ted and nodded, “We’re not going to let him get away. He’s wanted in several states, and had the force here done their jobs and contacted us outright then we would have finally had him secure. We know what the Hardy Boys are like, we’re going to catch them.”

“How many times have you said that since you first went after them?” Chris asked dryly.

“Shouldn’t you be in a little more pain?” Lita asked Ted, ignoring Chris, and the blonde blinked slowly before looking down at his hands. “Oh, yeah…” he moved across the room to what appeared to be a small kitchen next to a microwave, and then washed his hands. But still he didn’t look at all phased by the pain he should have, by rights, been experiencing… and she had only caught herself on steam once and that had hurt like hell.

“I don’t think we should tell Cody about this,” Wade suddenly inputted, causing Lita to look at him.

Before she could comment on why they should keep him in the dark when he had a right to know, even though she was confident Jeff wouldn’t return to the area, the door to the ‘consultation’ room opened and out stepped another good looking young man with dark hair. If she hadn’t have known better she could have deemed him as maybe a cousin of the smaller guy, Bourne.

He looked startled to see her, but the choked, “Lita?!” that emitted from behind him had a slightly sensuous smirk forming on her lips.

“Hi Adam, miss me?”

~:~

Handlers and units alike were rather surprised to see Adam's reaction to Lita, with the exception of Chris who had heard of the woman although never met her and had only at that moment put the pieces together. When Adam and Lita had been an item, Chris had been working at the other side of the country and there had been something about the casual manner Adam dropped her name in their mails and the equally casual fashion he wrote of their break-up made him think there had been something more to the whole thing. It looked like he had been right. This girl had actually got to Adam. 

Adam managed to recover himself slightly. “What're you doing back in town?”

“I wish I could say I've come back to see you, but since I left town I've been chasing one Matt Hardy--”

“Your ex?”

Lita rolled her eyes. “Yes, my ex. Although I had no idea what he was involved in when we were dating and trust me, I'm not chasing him for any romantic reason. Not long after I left him, Matt did something very stupid that I can't really go into but let's just say it involved doing something highly illegal that made him a lot of money. We thought we'd get him quick, he seemed to be falling apart not too long beforehand. Except he vanished. He never got a job, never did anything that put him on our radar.”

“And what's this got to do with anything?”

Lita looked amused. “Haven't you worked it out yet? When Matt ran, he took his little brother with him...”

“Jeff,” said Adam with a sudden understanding.

Ted frowned. “You knew this guy? And you didn't realise it was him?”

“I didn't even meet Jeff, or Matt,” said Adam with annoyance. “I heard about them once or twice and I might have known the name if I'd heard Matt's, but I didn't. I didn't even know Jeff's last name 'til today and it's not as if it's unusual.”

It was a fair enough point and Ted let it go, although he might not have had the chance to add more since Adam was talking to Lita again without much attention to any of them. “So you've got Jeff and he can give Matt up?”

“I think we need to speak in private,” replied Lita, ushering Adam into the room that he and Cody had just emerged from. She looked over her shoulder before she closed the door, somewhat severe and Ted thought he recognised what was in that look. They probably could keep the truth from Cody but he would expect to see news of Jeff's capture in the papers and when he read that the man wasn't in custody, he would freak out about not being told. It wasn't the kind of thing they really could keep from him, although Ted would have liked nothing better. 

“Codes,” he said, reaching out a hand to his lover. “Let's go upstairs a while, so that Adam can get on with whatever he wants to talk to the fed about.”

“But I wanna know--” Cody cut himself off. “Your hands look a bit red.”

“Overwashing,” said Ted smoothly. “We'll be back down just as soon as something happens – one of you'll come get us or let us know, right?”

“The old fashioned way, by text,” said John with a grin that hid his concern over how Cody would react at the news he knew that Ted was about to give him. “We might even have the boys listen in, if they start talking about what happened with them.”

John was joking and Cody knew it, but he allowed Ted to lead him from the room anyway, a knot of tension growing in his stomach. There had to be something wrong for Ted not to be able to talk in front of everyone, or risk Adam or Lita walking in on what was being said.

They went up the flights of stairs until they were in their own apartment and Ted indicated for Cody to sit on the couch, taking his place beside him. Cody tried to smile and couldn't quite manage it. “Did something happen while I was in there?”

Ted nodded slowly. “We got some news of that agent, right before you came out.”

“Bad news?”

“Hardy didn't make it to jail. His brother, the one she's been chasing, managed to stage some kind of breakout. Shot two guys, not fatally, not even badly. But he incapacitated them, took Jeff and vanished.”

Cody's eyes widened. “He's still out there?”

Way out there Ted wanted to say but didn't, it was too serious a matter even for jokes that weren't really jokes at all. “The feds are after him and his brother, there's the little matter of shooting two cops and it sounds like they're going all out. I don't think he'll be free long. And Lita said that she believes they're long gone and it sounds like she's dedicated a lot of time to chasing this Matt.”

“But she never caught him, so she can't be that good,” Cody shot back. 

“Whatever he did, it doesn't sound like he was ever top priority. But now? With what Jeff's done, and with two injured cops? I'll bet they'll be doing anything to get hold of them. And that means they'll be long gone.” Ted put an arm around Cody. “I'm not taking this lightly, trust me. But I don't think it's too likely that he stuck around Chicago.”

“Just because it's the sensible thing to do, to run? He's not exactly Mr Reasonable.”

“No, but his brother's been chased by the feds and he managed to keep his own head down. So did Jeff remember, because they know they're related and either they never traced him here or else he managed to disassociate himself from his brother – and we know they were in cahoots here because otherwise Matt would never have gotten to him so fast, or known what was going on.”

“But that means he probably knew what Jeff was up to, at least part of it. And that makes him as crazy as his brother.”

“But obviously with a lot less desire to get caught.” Ted hugged Cody tighter. “Honestly Codes, I won't be leaving you alone for a moment while he's free but I really believe that he'd not come after you again... well, maybe if he was left to his own devices. But I don't think his brother would let him. And if he was around still, he would have made a move by now. There was a huge gap of time when we didn't know he was free and he knew where we were. That would have been the time for him to act, I really believe that. He would have been straight here while he had an advantage and he wasn't.”

Cody nodded. “That makes sense,” he said cautiously. “And in any case, I know him a little and he wasn't exactly a model of restraint. I don't think he would have waited, like you said. But still...” He sighed. “You think Alex would teach me some self-defence as well?”

“I don't think he'd have a problem with that,” said Ted. “And I will too. And I'll be around to protect you, even if he was locked away I'd be there to look out for you. We'll make damned sure that the feds keep us updated. There's no way you're in danger Cody, I won't let you be. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and protected... always. I swear it.”

“I know Ted.” Cody looked up at Ted with a smile before letting his face rest against Ted's chest. It didn't matter that there was a potential killer waiting to kidnap him, he always felt safer when he was nestled against Ted in this way and hearing Ted vow to protect him didn't hurt either. There was a small part of him that was freaking out, terrified, but Ted had a way of calming him. And he was probably right. Still, he would feel better when the feds had some information about where Jeff might have gone with his crazy-sounding big brother. 

~:~

Once Cody and Ted had gone upstairs, Chris gave Evan a little smile. “I think normal activities have been cancelled for the moment and Cody might just need the sugar rush. You wanna come with me to get the boy some more Dr Pepper?”

“Sure,” said Evan, who recognised an excuse when he heard one. 

“Guys,” said Randy, no trace of his usual good humour in his voice. “That might not be safe, given that we've got a potential hitman out there and he knows all of us on sight.”

“I'll take a weapon,” said Evan hopefully. 

“Chill Randy, we won't get shot full of holes before 'Berto's big bash tomorrow.” Chris stood up and grabbed Evan's hand, pulling the other man to his feet. “Get your gun, we'll be there and back before you know it. And we have ways of being in contact in a hurry as well, you know that.”

Evan headed out of the room to get a weapon, while Randy gave Chris a reproving look. “Wade can activate his comm without his hands because his back's so damned broad. Can you?”

“My own shoulders are pretty broad too y'know.” Chris rolled his neck around, twitched his shoulders in an attempt to activate his own radio, not having much luck.

Wade chuckled. “You look like yer having a seizure.”

“Thanks very much, doctor.” Chris finally managed to get some joy out of his own implant. “There! Not too hard but I'll tell you what, I'll just hit it if I even suspect there's gonna be a problem. Believe it or not, I'm not feeling like dying just to get Cody a couple of cans.”

“Just you be careful,” said John, sounding casual but with real concern. 

“I will,” said Chris, trying not to sound annoyed – they sounded like his mother when he had been about seven years old and thought he was old enough to go all the way to the next street alone. But he personally thought that Jeff would be a long, long way away by now, no matter how mental. 

Evan popped back into the room and nodded at them and he and Chris took off, leaving the apartments. Chris privately thought that by the time they got back, Adam would still be in there with Lita and he also suspected that he, Adam and Christian might be having themselves a little get-together for old times sake that night, to cheer Adam up about his ex suddenly turning up after all this time. Although Alberto would probably freak out about it and Evan most certainly would, not because of the need for privacy but because they would be unguarded. More than likely Alberto would insist that whatever gathering they managed took place at his house and then would sulk when Christian tried to chase him off. Although Evan would probably be happy, since it would mean he got to linger somewhere to keep an eye on him too...

“Is there some reason that you've sunk into silence?”

Chris glanced at Evan, shaking his head with a grin. “Just thinking that Adam's probably gonna want some moral support from his oldest friends tonight. Wondering how we're gonna organise that.”

“Uh-huh.” Evan didn't look amused. “That's not the reason you wanted to get away and take me with you.” He paused and when he spoke again, his voice was almost timid. “Is it something about Randy? You and him were talking last night, you said. I didn't know you even left the apartment.”

“I just went downstairs so I wouldn't disturb you and he was already there, sneaking smokes while John wasn't looking.” Chris tried to work out how he was going to say what he had to. “He asked me to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“He wanted to know why you've been jumpy around him and why I have as well. He noticed that it started off with you and then I caught it and he figured you said something to me. He's more perceptive than he pretends to be sometimes.”

Evan stopped walking, eyes wide. “Did you say anything to him?”

“No. But he knew something was up and he wants to know what it is. He didn't push me for answers but he asked that I talked to you and came to some decision about telling him what's up. He gave me some crap about things that were best for the four of you as a team and how you'll have to rely on one another and it's harder with secrets – but honestly? He thinks a lot of you whether he remembers the past or not and I think it's worrying him.”

“You think I should tell him?”

Chris sighed. “Before I talked to him, I would have said no. But right now? He knows something's up. If we don't tell him we imply that we don't trust him. And who's to say he doesn't remember, or suspect?”

“But...” Evan struggled to find the right words. “That's the past and it doesn't even matter anymore! Why should we tell him?”

“Because I don't think it's gonna make a difference.” Chris took hold of Evan's hand, looking him in the eye. “I know that I didn't take it as well as I could have done but it was just such a shock. And maybe it'll come as a shock to him as well. But I really don't think it'll make a difference. Randy's crazy about John, anyone can see that. And I trust you. If you say that there's nothing there now, that it's just something that happened in the past, then I can live with that.” He managed a small smile. “And if he realises that I'm the lucky one, let's just say he'll have a fight on his hands.”

Evan smiled back, but he still looked worried. “You don't know how much that means to me, really. But it's – well, it's so embarrassing to tell someone you've slept together when they don't even know about it! What if he freaks out?”

“I think he'll get over it,” said Chris, although he was slightly surprised at himself – he wouldn't have thought he would want to tell Randy at any point. But he had been able to think it over the night before and he could see more harm coming from keeping the secret than telling it. “And it's not like the others need to know either.”

“I guess.” Evan looked around them a moment and then pulled Chris over to a low wall that surrounded the garden of an empty house, sitting on it and urging his lover to do the same. “I don't think we can tell anyone else about it though. Especially not Ted.”

Chris raised his eyebrows. “Why not? What's happened, did you remember something else?”

“Sort of. More like I put two and two together.” Evan shrugged. “You know when Lita came in and she was putting names to all of us?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, I heard Bourne and I was nodding without even thinking about it. It never even occurred to me before, the word, but as soon as she said it I knew that was who I was.” He regarded Chris soberly.   
“That's my name, isn't it?”

Chris stared a moment, then nodded. It hadn't occurred to him that only Randy had remembered his own surname and yet Lita had reeled them all off, meaning she had to have gotten them from Alberto – and he must have been rattled to give out the real ones in the first place. Or else she had gotten them from Ricardo, something Chris didn't want to mention to the boss in case his assistant got into serious trouble. 

“I hope she doesn't look too deeply into our pasts and finds out we're dead,” said Evan with a shaky laugh that didn't sound at all like his own.

“Even if she does, she'll just assume that you're deep cover,” said Chris absently, more worried about Evan than he was about what the feds would think. “You've done nothing wrong and there's no reason to be on your backs. Or else, she might think that you've assumed the names in order to hide your real identities. I'm pretty sure that Alberto can make any questions go away, if she even cares to look into it. I'm pretty sure she won't bother. You're not the issue, none of us are.”

Evan nodded. “I suppose that makes sense,” he said. “I just – it wasn't like a light going off in my head or anything. She just said it and I knew it was right. And the others did as well, did you notice that? Randy already knew but those other names, Ted and Justin just nodded when she said them. It was the same for them. I don't know if they even realised they were doing it because I didn't. I only noticed because... well. When I remembered, I told you that I remembered a name as well? Someone I was hoping would never find out?”

Chris took a deep breath. He had known all along whose name Evan had remembered and he hadn't wanted to say anything, hadn't wanted to rock the boat. He was now wondering if it was a mistake. 

“Ted's name. DiBiase. I thought it was one of the squad who died, but that's really Ted's name, isn't it?”

“Yeah,” replied Chris slowly. “It is.”

“But Ted's with Cody.”

“Yeah.”

“So, why would I think that Ted would disapprove? I mean, if he's gay as well, why would he not approve?”

“More than likely because uh, you were uh, carrying on with your senior officer when you were supposed to be on watch,” said Chris, not really wanting to give voice to what Evan had been doing in the middle of that particular memory. “You know that Ted's a bit of a stickler for always being on the alert, never letting your guard down, taking precautions.”

“I hope that's it.” Evan rubbed his jaw. “I mean, I know that it's really serious with Cody, really serious, you'd have to be blind not to see that he adores Cody and that Cody adores him back – but I just hope it's not that he had some moral objection to gay guys. Because he could have a real existential crisis if that's the case and he gets any memory back.”

“I don't think he'll get any memory back,” Chris said. “For one thing, he didn't remember anywhere near as much as any of you did when he woke up. Not a single thing by the sounds, even the stuff that you woke up knowing. For another thing, no one else has. Even you, you just have that little bit from just before the bomb went off.”

“And I don't know why I thought he wouldn't approve,” said Evan slowly, mulling things over, seeming to come to a decision. “I'll talk to Randy. It's gonna be cripplingly embarrassing but I'll do it, if only to set his mind at ease, and mine. But I won't mention Ted to him and I won't mention it to Ted either. It's best to let that one lie.”

“That might be for the best.” Chris hesitated a moment. “Ev? Doesn't it bother you, not having your memories?”

Evan shrugged. “Honestly? Not really. I couldn't go back to it, no matter what. It'd be too distressing if I had any family who think I'm dead. And I'm happy. I like being where I am and if that bomb or that virus, or what Wade had to do to us wiped our memories for good, then I'm fine with that. It seems like a fair price for the payoff. Even if nothing else happens, we've saved some lives and helped to put away some people who needed to be taken from society. If it hadn't been for what happened to us, Lauriniatis and Layfield would still be out there and more than likely, Christian would be dead. So no, I don't mind not being able to remember. “ He gave a sudden wide smile. “And we'll just have to make new memories for me, won't we?”

~:~

“Escaped.” 

Lauriniatis's voice was flat, stating a simple fact. He stared at the table in the interview room of the police station as if trying to memorise every mark and scar on there. He had been only minutes away from being moved to jail when word had come in to hold him a little longer and he had excitedly assumed that he was being let off, that someone he paid big money to had come through for him and managed to get him off scot-free. But no, it turned out that Jeff had somehow managed to bust out and vanish, while he was left to face the music. And without the man who planted the actual bombs, they had to come down hard on someone. 

Opposite him, Agent Johnson leaned against the wall and watched him carefully. Lita had vanished off somewhere, chasing the trail of their bombers brother and he was willing to let her. She knew something about these maniac brothers after all, whereas he was only just getting all the information on this case. They had been called in when the shit hit the fan; usually they might have left single men, no matter how rich and powerful, to the local authorities. But this was a fuck-up of major proportions. A bombing was a terrorist activity no matter what and although the feds would have been summoned for that, he probably would not have been personally involved if the man in question was in custody and there was an airtight case. The confession amounted to that. But then the man had escaped and suddenly they had an escaped fugitive on their hands, one who had been involved in cops getting shot. No one looked lightly on that. 

“He's long gone,” Dwayne told Lauriniatis calmly. “Left you to take the rap – and let's see, that's two counts of terrorism. Not to mention the financial misdealings that your mayor came up with before we got a confession from Mr Hardy.”

“He confessed?”

“To everything and who put him up to it, who was there. Before he shot his way out of course.” Dwayne grabbed a chair, turned it backward and straddled it. “Look Johnny, you're in the shit here. Big time shit. You're going to jail and you're likely to die in there, later if you're lucky but it could be sooner. It doesn't matter what your motives were, you're gonna be judged to be just the same as any other terrorist, especially that attack on the subway. That was a huge mistake. You might have been able to plead attempted murder with the first bomb, but that one, that pushes you over the edge and we're planning to make both counts stick on the serious charge--”

“How many times do I have to tell you? That was Jeff! That was nothing to do with me?”

“Jeff said different and now he's not here, we've only got his word to go on. And frankly, he was a whole lot more convincing than you are.” Dwayne managed to catch Lauriniatis's eye. “Look, you can help yourself here. This is not going away and you're in more trouble than you know. I can tell you over and over and you don't seem to believe me, but this is the big-time. You won't be throwing money and lawyers at this and making it go away, because none of them are gonna touch this. You'll be found guilty because you are guilty and don't bother trying to argue degrees of guilt with me. The jury are gonna take one look at the evidence and put you away 'til shit sticks to the moon. The only thing you have a chance at right now is saving your miserable life.”

“Huh?”

“You could get the death penalty.”

“What?” Lauriniatis's jaw dropped. “You can't be serious! No one even died!”

“Doesn't matter. You could have killed hundreds of people, potentially. Depraved indifference. You're going down and if you keep on insisting that you're the victim here then they're gonna have a needle in your arm before you can say stop. Your only chance, your only chance, is to tell us what we wanna know. Where the hell did Hardy go?”

“I don't know!” Lauriniatis slammed his hands against the table in a brief display of fire, then visibly deflated. “I really don't. He had a place in the city, have you checked there? Apart from that, he didn't seem to make time for friends in particular – ha, and the ones I knew aren't in a position to hide him anymore.”

Dwayne raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

Lauriniatis gave him a calculating, crafty look, as if he was working out how much Dwayne knew. “Nothing,” he said, obviously coming to some decision. “Only that he didn't seem to have good friends. More cronies... wait! He has a brother. Uh... I don't remember his name, I never took any notice. Mark? Mike? Something like that. He mentioned him sometimes, they might even share a place. That's all I've got! I don't know where he might be, I really don't. We weren't even friends! He was just some psycho and I didn't find out what he was going 'til you told me what he'd done, I swear...”

Dwayne tuned out. He didn't believe for a moment that Lauriniatis had no knowledge of what Jeff had been up to, he wasn't stupid. But he was inclined to believe that Lauriniatis didn't know shit about where Jeff had gotten to since his jailbreak. His personal opinion was that Lauriniatis had thought he could use Jeff and been neatly trapped by the man, possibly without Jeff even considering that he would one day do so, and although Lauriniatis still wasn't seeing just how serious this was, Dwayne knew the type and knew he would sell out his own mother if he thought it would get him out of trouble and that was why he had mentioned the brother at all. The prisoner really did not know where Jeff had gone to. There was nothing more to get out of him, they might as well send him off to the jail while they built a case against him because at least that way he would be out of the way. 

Dwayne had no idea if Lita would get anything at all from her own contacts, but he somehow doubted it. If Matt had been giving her the slip all this time, then he thought that would remain the case no matter how close she had gotten this time. 

He had the doleful feeling that they would never lay eyes on either Jeff or Matt Hardy ever again.

~::~ 

When the pair returned from getting a top-up for Cody’s drinks Evan found himself lingering a little as he considered how he should talk to Randy. The other man was still sitting with John when they got back, the two grinning slightly and indicating the door--- which was still closed.

“They’re still in there?”

“Yep.”

“Do we think they’re actually talking or…?”

“I doubt Dr Adam could last this long.”

Chris and John’s banter seemed light and amusing, although it was clear both men were silently considering what was happening with Cody and Ted since they were still missing. In the absence of Evan and Chris there had been no hysterics or anything, but well, that didn’t mean anything really did it? For all they knew Ted could have had to subdue Cody, or distract him, one of the other.

“Um, Randy…”

Evan’s voice almost seemed to echo as he quietly questioned his friend, the man looking up almost immediately, “Can we um, have a word please?” the smaller man tried not to wince at how he pompous he sounded, but he was internally panicking about what he was about to do and the words had come out before he was really ready to consider how he was going to say it.

Momentarily Randy’s brows rose (and neither Evan nor Chris missed the way his eyes flickered towards John momentarily) before he nodded his head and then pushed himself upright off of the chair, “Sure.” He looked to John and then squeezed his shoulder lightly, Evan sending Chris a look that was a touch pleading for numerous reasons; he could do without John interrupting and everyone else being thrown off if they noticed them missing… that and he was also hoping that maybe Chris would say he shouldn’t do it.

Cowardice was not something Evan considered himself to be but this was pretty damned unnerving.

After a moment they headed out of the communal room together and headed up towards the roof since that was the secondary most private place they could talk; and both men subconsciously seemed to decide that they should avoid having their conversation in either of their spaces that they shared with their new partners now… not that Randy knew they had been partners yet.

If they had even been partners at all, and not just fuck buddies.

When they reached the roof Evan rubbed a hand through his hair and rolled his shoulders out before turning towards Randy and clearing his throat softly, “Right… Um…” he chewed his bottom lip slightly and shifted from foot to foot. He was a fidgety boy by nature and it showed itself more and more when he was feeling over-excited and uncertain… and right then he was feeling nervous. He had no idea how Randy was going to react to this news that he was giving, and he didn’t want to interfere in anything else that was happening--- i.e. Randy and John’s new relationship. Mercifully his own was alright thus far, but hopefully putting the ghost to rest properly would be enough to allow Evan to move forward properly.

“Ev, seriously, I’m not going to bite you,” the words were said in jest by Randy but there was enough there that Evan had the sudden urge to rebuff, “Once you would have done,” but he managed to bite his tongue (hard enough that he tasted blood actually) to keep from actually saying the words out loud.

“So… I guess this means you’re finally going to tell me what I’ve done wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Evan said, guilt building afresh.

“But you realise that the way you’ve been acting towards me has certainly hinted at it?”

Evan winced, “Yeah, sorry. I… I’ll tell you what the truth is.”

Moving over to the edge of the roof Randy seated himself upon it, long legs stretched out before him, and cocked his head as he considered Evan, the smaller man sighing and eventually falling into a slight not-quite pacing pattern, almost seeming to give a little skip when he turned around and returned back the way he had gone. The rhythm of his movements seemed familiar to Randy and in the back of his mind he felt something niggling, as though he should be able to know what it was he should be remembering, something that seemed so very familiar and yet he just couldn’t grasp it.

Shaking himself slightly when he realised Randy was still just staring at him, Evan sighed and stopped, standing before Randy even though there was some distance between them. A careful distance that he had been not entirely aware of seeking but that he was maybe using as his defence mechanism in case Randy somehow lost his temper on him.

And why would he think Randy would lose his temper so badly? He’d never seen the man lose it before really, even when things got bad he had always kept things in control, like he was used to taking a position in the lead… which was probably true given what Evan had remembered before.

“Alright… I don’t suppose you’ve remembered anything about our pasts’ right?”

Randy’s brow furrowed slightly as he tilted his head to the side, “Not especially no.”

Would it have been easier if he’d said otherwise? Evan considered it but honestly he had no idea anymore.

Scrubbing his hands over his face momentarily Evan then held up a hand as though signalling Randy to keep quiet. He needed to get through what he was going to say without being interrupted otherwise he had the feeling he would allow himself to make excuses or keep procrastinating and that wasn’t what any of them needed; they needed to be able to have this put behind them, so that they all knew and could move on with one another with their new relationships and friendships, and without affecting other new ones they had--- Ted and Cody being the two most predominantly in mind, but Justin and Wade were also a forefront; they had no idea how Justin might have reacted back then either, especially if there was the slightest hint of a chance that Ted (completely devoted to Cody, Ted) was homophobic back when he had been a soldier.

“Right. Well, I had a dream a few weeks back and…” he swallowed thickly, voice coming out a little hoarsely, “And the dream was about me and you. And we were…. We were… doing things.” He then groaned as he realised how juvenile that sounded and sighed heavily as he said, “I mean, I remember us… we were sneaking around, together, I think I was meant to be on watch or something and you were my superior…” and didn’t that just sound unnervingly kinky? “I don’t think we were together like a couple,” he hoped that that didn’t sound as relieved as he thought it had, because he didn’t want to hurt Randy’s feelings in a strange way, but he wanted to be honest considering he was already mucking up by bumbling the way he was, “I think we were just a form of stress relief for one another. But I remembered it, the night before we were caught in the explosion…” he trailed off, finding his eyes had been fixated on the floor for a while now, enhanced eyes able to see through the outside layer of the brick into the tiniest little grains of coloured detail of each slate brick, “And I freaked out.”

And again that made it seem bad but he couldn’t help that; he needed to be honest.

Evan finally found himself stuttering down to shut up when he realised Randy wasn’t speaking or even reacting to what he had said. His stony face and unmoving countenance had him seeming almost like a living statue and Evan was admittedly the tiniest bit unnerved by it. Chewing on his bottom lip a little Evan wondered whether he should leave the other alone to digest it or whether he should do something more to make Randy react. If he was going to react badly then it was probably better that he did it up there when they were alone rather than when they were back with the others.

“Randy—”

“I called you my little puppy dog,” Randy said suddenly, sounding almost numb and almost shocked by the prospect, but at the same time there was a timbre of awareness there, the same sort of tone that Evan knew he had used before when he had been commenting on everyone’s names and how he had just known what they were, what his own was.

“You—“even as he went to say he didn’t remember, he did, “You did, yeah.”

“… Why didn’t I remember this? I mean, I don’t even really remember it,” aside from that pet name he wasn’t getting anything in honesty.

“I don’t mean to be awful but… I didn’t want to remember. I didn’t want this to ruin anything between me and Chris and it was one of the reasons I kept quiet at the same time because I mean, you’d have to be blind not to see how you feel about John or how John feels about you.”

“Or how Chris feels about you and you for him,” Randy finished off and Evan nodded sheepishly.

“Well,” Randy sighed, “I’m not offended, if a little surprised… and now I do know it’s technically not my fault why you got so wigged out with me. I must admit I’m relieved I mean… I didn’t know what it was and I was just… it bothered me.” But in a way at least he understood now why he was so concerned about Evan; they had had a connection before, and even if their sexual relationship meant nothing they had obviously had some fondness for one another, “I appreciate that you told me. I’m glad.”

He smiled slightly, “Well… Would it be inappropriate to ask if I made it good for you?”

And just like that the tension was broken, Evan’s laughter echoing from the rooftop.

~~::~~

“Why do I have the feeling I know what they’re talking about?”

“Because you’re not wrong,” Chris said with mild apology as he leant down by the fridge and placed the cans into it, after removing the plastic wrapper that kept the cans together, “Evan… Well, Randy told me about wanting to know what it was that was causing the problem between the two of them.”

“Oh man…”

“Well, it needs to come out if it’s bothering Randy,” it was different when they thought that he didn’t know anything about it, but now that he was actually seeking answers. “I mean, I could have told him… but I didn’t think it was my place to tell since it was you know, between them and she only told me because I was, well I’d noticed that things were wrong with him.”

John hummed slightly and then leant forward and glanced towards the door before then glancing away again, clearly concerned by the fact that they were gone without either of them there to see what was going on. Not that John honestly expected that they would be doing anything to (or with) one another, but he was still a little leery any considering he had no idea how either of them would be responding.

“Well, when it’s out in the open no one else need know and we can move on with it.”

“You’re taking this better than I expected, “John said honestly, “It’s making me feel like an ass actually.”

“Well, considering how I reacted to it before when I was talking to him before I guess it’s nothing more than could be done.”

“Fair do’s really,” John shrugged and sighed as he reclined back onto the couch and sighed.

“So… they’re still in there talking then?”

“Yeah. No one’s come storming out and all…”

“Any sign of Ted and Cody?”

“Right here,” came a voice from the doorway and they turned to see the two men returning, Ted’s arm wrapped securely and possessively around Cody’s waist, hand splayed reassuringly over his flat stomach, “Did we miss anything?”

“Uh… Not really, Evan and I just got you some more drinks Codes.”

Cody immediately perked up although he still looked to be a little peaky. Unsurprising considering the news that he had been given but otherwise he had no idea what else to say about the fact that Evan and Randy was missing, and since they didn’t ask he wasn’t going to comment about it and draw unnecessary attention to them.

“Anyone want one?”

“You offering?”

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Honestly I think he’s in shock,” Ted was grinning as he said this but there was still a little uncertainty in his eyes as he glanced at the other moving over to the fridge.

“Well, if that’s the case I’m gonna take what’s offered since otherwise I’ll never get none.”

Chris realised that he was only projecting another fizzy drink into his notice because it meant he had something to focus on and something to do with his hands until he had Evan back and he could see what was going on with them.

Cody and Ted were soon seated opposite them, can tabs being snapped and then things went quiet for a while.

“Where’s Justin and Wade?” Ted asked, nodding when John said they’d gone out somewhere most likely so Wade could take a call of something.

“And Evan and Randy?”

And, just like before a voice came from the door, “Over here,” and Randy and Evan walked in, the pair grinning slightly and Evan still laughing.

Needless to say it wasn’t the reaction that either Chris or John had been expecting, but they couldn’t deny that they were pleased everything had gone well between them.

And when Evan came and dropped himself into his lap Chris couldn’t have been happier with events.


	29. Chapter Twenty-Eight: Party All Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally the grand unveiling of Wade's invention and Alberto has a big bash planned.

It wasn't too much later that Adam emerged from the soundproofed room and didn't look either pleased or surprised to see them all still waiting there. “I assumed you'd all take off.”

“We've got orders to work through our trauma,” said Chris blithely, ready to be slightly giddy with his relief. “With you and that means we have to wait.”

“Also, we're really nosy,” added John. Chris snorted with laughter, wondering if the other was as pleased as he was that their lovers didn't seem to have been tempted to revisit the past. 

“Well, I think that any more one-on-one counselling will have to wait 'til tomorrow,” said Adam. “We're running behind and I've been asked to see if I can shed any light on where Jeff might have gone from here. Not that I honestly believe that I can.”

“Any fresh input at all helps,” said Lita from behind him. “And our own psychiatrist never took the Jeff angle of the brothers seriously. Until we get our own men on the case, you're the best I have and you've had some chance to profile the guy through his actions. And you're able to use your insider information to help out too. After all, none of you put in an official complaint about this kidnapping. All we have is the information that the mayor had mysteriously sent to him.” Her tone was sneering and told everyone that she didn't believe for a moment that it was mere coincidence. They could understand though that she might want them on whatever charges she could manage without having to plough through the political bullshit. If McMahon got involved in any serious way, it might take years to untangle the mess and cut through the legal roadblocks that would come along with it. And during that time the money-men, Lauriniatis and Layfield, might get the chance to either flee or interfere with the trial in some manner. 

“Wait,” said Ted before Adam could dismiss them outright. “What did you actually learn about where this Hardy is?”

“Not much,” said Adam, ignoring the rather warning look that Lita shot him. “They've no ties to Chicago and there's doubt they'd return to their home town. Matt's been in some trouble before and they'll be looking into that as well, in case he's got in touch with any contacts regarding new ID's or anything like that. However, I believe they seem just arrogant enough to consider they'll keep their own names – that's neither here nor there for the moment of course. You can bet though, that the bombs mean that they've drawn a lot of attention and the Fed's are gonna be embarrassed that they didn't put too much attention into locating Matt and the press are gonna be saying they might have avoided what happened had they done so. Jeff alone would probably stay but I think Big Brother wags the tail on that dog. So they're not nearby, I'd be willing to stake my reputation on that.”

“And our safety,” muttered Cody.

“I'll let you know how far their trail leads – and they will have left one, even if it's sightings that peter out as they change their appearance,” said Lita briskly. “And this time, now they're taken seriously, we'll find them.”

She looked around the group. “I really wouldn't be too concerned. Now, we've got a whole night of poring over all our previous psych reports and the crimes we have, trying to fit together some kind of profile that might give us a clue as to their next moves. Or their next crime.” She gave Adam a far more friendly smile than she had given any of them, almost flirtatious. “Come on. I'm staying in a hotel and I'll spring for take-out since you're putting your plans on hold.”

There were a couple of nods and mumbled farewells as Adam walked obediently after her and out of the apartments – but as soon as the door slammed, everyone broke into fits of sniggers. 

“I can't believe Adam's being led around by the dick,” said John comfortably, seeming highly amused by the whole thing. 

“Heel, boy,” added Randy with a laugh. 

“Was he like that with her before?” asked Evan curiously.

“I wouldn't know,” Chris said honestly. “I wasn't in the country at the time and I only know what I got from mails – he did kinda drop her name a few times too often to be entirely casual.”

“Hmmm.” Randy looked far more amused than anyone else. “It's nowhere near evening. Why would she be making comments about spending all night going through the files? I bet she's trying to rekindle the lurve.”

“Anything that gives him less time to go probing through our minds,” said Evan firmly. 

“And if it actually leads to Hardy being found, then so much the better,” commented Ted. 

“Amen to that,” replied Cody. “But I always felt a bit bad that Adam didn't have the same uh, understanding that he would have had if he had someone of his own. This might be a good thing for all of us, in all kinds of ways!”

~:~

Thanks to Lauriniatis and Layfield being in jail with their crimes being investigated by the feds, everyone was almost certain that they wouldn't have put out any kind of hit on anyone at Alberto's big party – it would be too suspicious and there would be no point, not that it ruled out the revenge angle and of course, Jeff was still on the loose. Just because it made no sense for him to attack the place, it didn't rule out the fact that he still might. For that reason security was incredibly high, the building had been swept several times and all the guests were searched, no matter how rich and important they were. Christian had to step in when it seemed that Alberto was about to demand that the celebrity chef that was doing the catering for the affair (and televising it for his own show about training up youngsters to follow in his footsteps) work completely naked to ensure he 'hadn't spiked the food again' and explain to the chef about how the bomb had been smuggled into the workplace. There were so many four-letter words in the reply that it took Christian a moment to realise it was understanding rather than a refusal to work, although the chef elected that he and everyone in his employ kept their pants on.

All the units and their handlers were there of course. Justin would have been present anyway, a guest of Wade from the outside and his bodyguard to anyone that cared to look closer. No one realised just what the nature of the relationship was and for that, both of them were grateful. Wade didn't like talking about his personal life with people he barely knew and didn't fancy explaining to anyone that Justin was far more than the average bodyguard. 

The others mingled with the other guests, many of whom already knew one another and regarded them with mild curiosity. Ted got a little paranoid in case anyone recognised him as Maryse's date, the one who never crawled out of the woodwork after she had been killed, but Cody was certain that none of them had looked closely enough at him when he had been with her, knowing that he was of no consequence to her and barely worth looking at, let alone remembering. Which was a massive shame on one hand, because Ted was definitely worth a second look, and a third and a fourth. But in honesty, it was the best thing for everyone that Ted was not remembered from that night and that he had been gifted with different clothes for this occasion and had changed his look very slightly helped. None of the others had to worry about being recognised, although no one had ever said so they all doubted that their unit had been socially important enough to have ever been invited to this kind of event. 

Alberto himself was holding court among the guests, fitted in an expensive suit with his trademark scarf and open collar. Christian was never far from his side, in an equally pricey suit that no one doubted that Alberto had ordered made for him – it highlighted everything that was attractive about the man. And the suit was so well cut that no one realised (and only a few people knew) that he was armed; just like his friends he didn't think that anyone would try anything at the party but he wasn't willing to risk his life, or Alberto's, on that. Permanently hovering close to Alberto was Ricardo, in a tux that cost nowhere near as much as his employers clothing, a look of rather haughty good-humour on his face. He wasn't packing heat because no one would trust him anywhere near a firearm, but Christian suspected that should anything happen, Ricardo would have Alberto out of danger and take a bullet for him, while sneakily hoping that Christian would take one somewhere debilitating. There was no doubting the man's loyalty, no matter how much Christian hated the way he behaved. 

There were also some reporters there, representing a couple of major television channels that were respected for hard news and two newspapers that had the same reputation. The other stations could pick up on it later, for the moment Alberto wanted things exclusive. One of them had been the one to discover that Lauriniatis and Layfield had been in jail and had broken the story earlier that evening, being vague on the charges that had been levelled against them. That was another reason to be careful but Alberto had been gleefully sure that the pair would be too busy trying to cover their asses to worry overmuch about him – or else they would realise that now, no one in their organisation could be touched. 

In a corner, Wade sipped on a fruit juice and worried, not daring to have even a single beer in case it suddenly made him completely intoxicated. He already felt a little like throwing up on himself. Performing surgery, ordering around a crew of doctors, fine. Hell, being kidnapped and tied up, just another problem to get through. But talking to a bunch of people about his work, people who might not understand what he was talking about? He didn't like the thought of that one bit. What if they thought that his breakthrough was completely pointless,or not worth investing in? What if there were questions he wasn't sure how to answer? He hated this public speaking part of the job, although he wasn't an especially shy man by nature. It was simply the big reveal that made him nervous. 

“You'll be fine,” said Justin soothingly. “I'll be right there, watching and cheering you on. And we all know that it's good, that it works. This is just proving it to the rest of the world. And once we've shown it, that's just another thing to stop you being a target.”

“Unless the next one's just as wanted,” said Wade pessimistically. 

“And it probably will be just as good, but I'll be there to keep an eye on you and we'll be making sure that it stays under wraps far better than this one did.” Justin patted his shoulder. “It'll be fine babe, don't you worry about it.”

“Sure it will,” said Wade, trying for a smile and only half-succeeding. “And hell, once this is over and done with I can have a proper drink, right?”

“Wrong I'm afraid. It's all champagne.” Justin grinned. “It's an occasion to celebrate but I don't even know if you like it or not.”

“If I get through this, it's gonna be a cause to bloody celebrate.” 

There was a stage along one wall, rather narrow but long, a curtain over the back of it and a podium at the front with a microphone attached. The party had been going for maybe an hour and everyone who had been invited had shown up already, things were going well and there had been no security scares so far. Alberto took the opportunity to head to the stage and stand behind the podium, clearing his throat slightly. There was instantly silence in the room, everyone realising that this was the moment they had been waiting for. Nearby, the cameras and photographers set themselves up quickly to capture whatever it was that might be said. There had been no indication that Alberto was ready to give his speech but then again he probably hadn't known for sure when he would do so. Alberto was a big believer in going with his instincts and his fortune testified that they had not so far seen him wrong. 

“Thank you all for coming,” said Alberto in accented English – he had once told Christian that the accent actually helped him, because people often considered that he wasn't as smart as he was because he didn't care to lose the trace he still had. Christian just found it sexy. “As you may have realised, I have an announcement to make, something that I hope you will find as exciting as I have.”  
He beamed. “I wish that I could claim credit for what I have to show you, but all I can credit to myself is the discovery of the young scientist who made this evening possible. I'd like to introduce Doctor Wade Barrett.”

There was applause as Wade made his way to the stage, looking confident and collected, every inch the suave gentleman in spite of his size. He looked out across the people gathered and noted that Justin had positioned himself by the stage, outwardly relaxed but Wade knew damned well that he was alert to everything going on. As the applause died down, he allowed his gaze to linger on Justin a little longer than he probably should, but the sight of the man there relaxed him more than any amount of pep talks ever could. 

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began easily, determined not to let his nerves show. “Regardless of what Mr Del Rio says, I worked as part of a team...” He mentioned (and motioned to) Gail and Daniel while his mind wandered a little. Daniel had been talking to Mike when Alberto had started talking and no one would ever guess that Mike had potentially been a candidate for months and years of painful reconstructive surgery, or a morgue. He was with Alex, both of them seeming happy together even if he knew that Alex was probably armed as well, while Mike was animated and chatty as ever. The sight bolstered his spirits somewhat. He knew that what he was about to reveal was of significant medical importance. 

“We have spent some considerable time working on a synthetic replacement for damaged skin,” he informed the crowd, barely aware of the cameras watching him, getting into his stride. “We can't replicate it of course, we haven't been able to grow new skin but we have come up with a product that can be grafted to existing tissue with no noticeable damage remaining and is indistinguishable from the real thing.”

He briefly went through the dulled feeling in the skin, although he emphasised that not only did it have to be a bad thing but it was actually similar to scar tissue (if more severe). He didn't want to get too technical, knowing that most people would find it hard to follow, and so cut to the chase as quickly as he could. 

“Obviously, this has wide ranging benefits,” he told the crowd. “In cosmetic surgery obviously, but there are so many more applications. There are people who suffer from disfigurements and injuries that would affect the rest of their lives and we now have the ability to change that.” He smiled. “I'd like to show you a recording at this time, of a young girl called Millie who volunteered to be a test subject for the procedure.”

Alberto nodded curtly to one side and someone pulled the curtain smoothly to reveal a huge screen on which a short film began to play. There was a quick explanation that Millie had been horribly burned in a house fire, followed by some footage of her before the operation. Alberto had wanted to add some depressing music in the background but Wade had balked, insisting that the film spoke for itself. And it certainly seemed to. There were a couple of muted gasps at the state of her, mutterings, people averting their eyes from the screen only to return there as she spoke of her hope that Doctor Barrett would be able to make her look better because she didn't like scaring people. 

They hadn't shown any of the actual operation but there was some footage of Millie afterwards, still in hospital but looking like her old self in spite of the lack of hair and that Wade hadn't been able to save all of her fingers during the operation. She was clearly delighted with the results and had a smile that won over all of those watching. 

The film was barely five minutes long and when it was turned off, Wade grinned at the audience. “Millie continues to be monitored but she is suffering no ill-effects, there's no indication that her body will reject the transplant. She is hale and healthy, there's no infection and as you can see, when it comes to her scarring there is no need for any further, painful grafts.”

He might have said more but he didn't get the chance; the room erupted into cheers. Wade thought the video had a lot to do with that, there was nothing like a cute little girl to tug at the heartstrings, but it was the reaction he had been hoping for. More than he had been hoping for actually, it was verging on embarrassing. He gave a self-depreciating smile, his eyes searching out Justin again. Justin was where he had been but he was cheering just as wildly as everyone else, a beaming grin on his face. It occurred to Wade that being able to help someone like Millie was payment enough, but being able to help Justin was what he was most grateful for. 

He moved over to make room for Alberto, who waited for the applause to die down before announcing the breakthrough had been patented to the corporation but was about to be made widely available. “With some concessions toward those most in need,” he added, as a nod to altruism. “Doctor Barrett has already offered to personally aid some of Millie's friends at the hospital. And speaking of Millie, she has come tonight and although I'm sure she'll be happy to be the centre of attention, maybe we should try not to overwhelm her too much?”

He indicated to a guard on the door, who ducked out and brought Millie and her parents into the room, along with another guard to keep people at a distance if needed. As guest of honour Millie was dressed up and had a smile almost as wide as Justin's as the crowd cheered her again, all craning to get a closer look. Wade shook her hand and then left the stage as he gave Alberto the chance to finish off his speech. Justin met him as he stepped off and moved closer to Wade's ear. “Meet me in the bathroom in five minutes.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm so delighted to see you get the reaction you deserve, I'm so damned proud, I need to hug the life out of you.”

Wade grinned back at him. “That can be arranged.”

Out of all of them, it was Ted who had been keeping the closest eye on things; a part of him was always going to be sure that Cody was in danger. But there had been no sign and as Alberto finished his speech to rapturous applause, he touched Cody's arm and indicated that they should go over to John and Randy, standing at the edges of the crowd. Cody smiled at him and they went over to the men as the crowd started talking excitedly among themselves. 

“Anything?”

Randy shook his head, looking surprisingly casual since he had gotten fed up of the tie before they had even gotten to the venue and chucked it out of the car window, unfastening his top button and going for a rather roguish charm. It certainly seemed to be working on John, who had barely been able to pay attention to anything else all night. “No sign of anything at all.” 

“I thought that we were supposed to be getting kept up to date by the feds,” growled Ted irritably. “Not one word.”

“You could ask Lita,” said Randy. “She's over with Chris, Ev and Doctor Adam.”

Ted paused, blinking. “She's uh, what?”

Randy smirked. “That's what we thought too. Funny, huh? I'll bet you the price of our next take-out that she says she's here to keep an eye out and being Adam's date made her unobtrusive – and I'll bet that Chris tells us something different.”

Ted chuckled. “Oh hell, at least it means he can't get after us when he finds out just how close we all are. You coming over?”

“Thought I'd check the perimeter,” replied Randy. “Make sure there's no one lingering. John's gonna help me.”

“It's important to check these things,” added John, although his eyes were on the skin showing at Randy's throat. 

“Sure it is,” said Cody with a roll of his eyes. “Have fun you too. Don't get too carried away.”

Ted and Cody were sedate enough when they walked away from the couple, but sideways glances at one another had them bursting into laughter that they desperately tried to smother. By the time they managed to weave their way through to the others, they had it under control, although it was harder to control their urge to hold hands. And then Cody suddenly decided there was no reason to control the urge. They weren't part of the rich and famous that were Alberto's guests, they weren't the scientific or medical community that had their place there either. Who cared who saw or what they thought? Feeling rather brave he slipped his hand into Ted's, meeting his startled look with a smile. And he was only a little surprised when Ted squeezed his hand back rather than pulling away. 

It wasn't until they got over to their friends that they parted and that had nothing to do with the presence of others. Cody greeted them cordially, raising an eyebrow a little at Chris, who was looking very professional in a grey suit with a waistcoat and the only thing suggesting he might not be a politician was the attractive young man in the charcoal beside him whose hands were resting on his arm. Evan looked so happy to be there that Cody found himself wanting to laugh a little. Evan was always so enthusiastic – then again, he wasn't exactly unhappy himself at the moment. 

“Excuse me a moment,” said Ted as he pulled his phone out and started searching for something on the internet. “I've got reason to believe that this story will have broken out on the wire already and I just need to check one or two things.”

“Mr Protective,” teased Chris.

Ted smirked. “Who said that I was checking anything specific?”

“Although it would be nice if we had some idea of whether or not Jeff's in custody or if we can except a surprise visit tonight,” said Cody pointedly.

Lita looked vaguely amused, looking quite different in a dress that struggled a little to hide her cleavage. Cody wasn't even a little surprised to see that she sported several tattoos and not the traditional girlish ones either. She seemed at ease but Cody would have bet that formal evening wear wasn't something that she revelled in wearing. 

“I haven't found him,” she said pointedly. “However. I've managed to find something of a trail. He's gone with his brother, like we said. We found the car they were in dumped at the border of the state. There's some footage of the two of them in disguise taking a domestic flight to New York and from there, they walked out of the airport and disappeared. They may have gone home, they're from North Carolina and it's not too much of a trek from there, but more likely they're lying low. And a long way from there. They won't be able to use the airports any more and there's no way they can have gotten back here from New York in the time they had. So we can safely say that you can relax, on the Hardy part at least.”

“For tonight,” added Ted, still looking at his phone. “If you need us to apprehend them, I'd be more than happy.”

“If it happens, it's a federal case.”

Chris smirked. “And Adam was just telling us that he and Lita are putting in lots of work to try to chase them down.”

Cody looked at the psychiatrist, who actually blushed. Chris chuckled and Adam shot him a look that suggested he'd be more than happy to knock him on his ass, although it clearly wasn't serious. “I suppose that no matter what you think, at least it's encouraged you to be a little more open with me. When were you all planning on telling me you're involved?”

“We weren't,” said Cody bluntly. “Sorry.”

“Well, you're all still expected to visit me a whole lot, so I'll find a way to get the information out of you,” said Adam brightly. 

“And I'll be expecting information out of you too,” said Chris bluntly, Evan snickering a little at the comment. 

Ted looked up and gave them a smile. “Since it's a night of good news – good-ish news – you want some more?”

He dragged the moment out a little and then gave in when his audience started to become impatient. “It didn't take long at all but the news has already started leaking out. The guy with the camera, his station put up the news on it in a little squib and they're running the whole story in a while, probably just long enough to edit it right. And the party seems to have brought to attention that Alberto's ready to unveil something. Anyone with even a passing interest in stocks and business has been looking out for what's happening here and I think there's a few people here who've snuck out or texted to get some of the corporation stock. The prices just went through the roof, Alberto's richer than ever and it looks like everyone wants to invest in Wade's breakthrough. And then there's the other big story in the business world. People have been finding out about Lauriniatis and his stock just plummeted. I'm not a stockbroker but I understand how a business works and uh, looking at how many of his shares just flooded the market, I'd say they're worthless. And that means he's bankrupt as of right now.”

“Broke and in jail,” said Evan grimly. “Fitting, after what he did to us.”

“What did he do to you?” asked Lita casually. 

“Kidnapped Cody and Wade and blew up the building,” Ted said quickly. He didn't add that Lauriniatis was the one responsible for blowing them to hell long before that. 

Lita didn't look entirely convinced but let it go. 

“Think we can give Wade another hour and then slip out without him noticing?” asked Ted, drawing back a little from the rest of the group. 

Cody glanced over to where Wade was the centre of attention from a crowd, Justin still by his side. “I bet he'd probably not even notice,” he said with a chuckle. 

“Well, Justin's gonna want us there to keep an eye out,” said Ted reluctantly. “I'd rather be going home with you though. But we'll get this over with and then it'll really be over. For us at least. And then we can get on with whatever mission Alberto sends us on next.”

“No mission,” said Cody firmly. “Not for a while. I'm cashing in some of those favours 'Berto owes us to get some time off. Because this whole thing has been taking too much of your attention away from me and I intend to make sure that we get to spend some real time together.” He winked. “Some of it might even involve getting out of bed.”

Ted laughed and continued making small talk with Cody, secretly wishing for the party to be over so that he could take Cody home and revel in the feeling that finally, everything in their world was all right.


End file.
